Imaging meibomian glands on a patient with chalazia in the upper and lower lids: a case report.

AIM: To describe the meibomian gland (MG) appearance in a case of eyelid chalazia, using a novel meibography method.

METHODS

A 29-year-old female of South Asian origin presented with mild swelling in the lower lid of the left eye. The patient also presented with a history of a recurrent chalazion in the upper lid of the same eye, which later progressed to an active chalazion. A chalazion also developed in the upper lid of the right eye. Meibography was performed using a novel Keratograph (Keratograph 4, OCULUS, Wetzlar, Germany) to evaluate the structure of the MG in the area affected by the chalazia.

RESULTS

The area of the recurrent chalazion in the upper left lid showed partial and/or complete MG loss. The active chalazia in the lower left lid and the upper right lid showed inflammation and MG drop out at the affected site. The inflammation was found to be reduced during the follow-up visits, however disappearance of MG very specific to the region of the chalazion was observed.

CONCLUSION

The Keratograph 4 was able to image the MG structures clearly, allowing the clinician to monitor the progression of chalazia and the MG loss in the affected areas.