Eyelid Lesions

The eyelid is not ordinary skin. Along its edge run the lash roots, the meibomian glands that keep the eye from drying, and the tear drainage openings that carry tears away. Remove a lesion without accounting for them and the visible result can be fine while the eye is not: lashes grow in the wrong direction, the lid stops meeting the eye, or tears start to run down the cheek.

At ELEMENTAL these procedures are performed by Dr Hanna Barinova, Specialist Ophthalmologist (DHA licence 91913741), whose practice is eyelid, orbital and strabismus surgery. The lesion is assessed as part of the eyelid, not as a spot on the skin — which is also why the closure is planned before anything is removed.

Some eyelid lesions deserve a closer look before treatment. Worth an appointment sooner rather than later if you notice: a lump that keeps growing, an area where the lashes have fallen out and not returned, a notch or distortion of the lid edge, an ulcer or crust that heals and breaks down again, bleeding on light contact, or a lesion that has changed colour or shape.

None of these means something serious by itself — but they are the features that decide whether a lesion is simply removed or removed with a margin and sent for examination. Where there is any doubt, the tissue goes for histology and the result is discussed with you at follow-up.

The consultation takes up to 45 minutes. The lid is examined at the slit lamp, including the margin, the lash line and tear drainage, and the eye is checked for how fully it closes. You will be told what the lesion most likely is, whether it needs histology, how it would be removed and what the lid will look like afterwards.

Photographs are taken only if you give written consent. If the lesion can be dealt with straight away, it often is. If it is larger, or sits on the lid margin, the procedure is planned for a separate date so that enough time is set aside.

Most eyelid lesions are removed under local anaesthetic, which numbs the area; you are awake and can go home shortly afterwards. The lesion is excised with a margin appropriate to its type and position, and the lid is closed so that the margin and lash line keep their line. Larger excisions, or those needing reconstruction, may be done with sedation in our own operating theatre — ELEMENTAL is a DHA-licensed day surgical centre, so this happens in the same building, on the same day, without a referral elsewhere.

Where reconstruction of the lid is needed, it is planned in the same consultation rather than discovered afterwards.

Expect some swelling and bruising for the first few days; most of it settles within one to two weeks. Ointment or drops are prescribed, and the area is kept clean and dry. You can usually return to work within a day or two, depending on the size of the excision.

A scar is a normal part of any excision. On the eyelid it is usually placed in a natural crease or along the lid margin, and it continues to soften and pale over several months. Individual results vary, and the realistic outcome for your particular lesion is described to you before treatment rather than after.

Any procedure on the eyelid carries risk, and the honest list is short but real. Bruising and swelling around the eye are usual for the first few days. Infection is uncommon and is treated if it occurs. A scar always forms; the aim is a fine line that settles into an eyelid crease or follows the natural lines of the skin, but healing depends on your own tissue and cannot be promised in advance.

Removing tissue close to the lash line can alter the shape or position of the lid margin, which is why we stay conservative at that edge. A lesion can come back, particularly when the cause behind it — a blocked gland, chronic inflammation of the lid margin — is not treated alongside the removal.

Some lesions are better watched than removed. If yours is small, stable and causing no symptoms, that is a legitimate recommendation and you will hear it from us rather than a proposal to operate.

Where a histology report changes the picture, Dr Hanna Barinova explains what it means and what follows. Individual results vary, and your plan is set after examination.

Initial consultation with the ophthalmologist — AED 1,100, up to 45 minutes. Follow-up consultation — AED 600. The cost of the removal itself depends on the lesion, its position and whether reconstruction is needed, and is confirmed to you in writing after the examination. We do not quote a figure for an eyelid we have not seen.

Prices updated: September 2026. Consultation required; individual results vary.

ELEMENTAL Day Surgical Center, 113 Jumeira St, Jumeirah 1, Dubai. DHA licence 5323888.