Case File

Barney is a 9-year-old cockerpoo who came in with a lump on his upper right eyelid. Two years ago, Barney had a similar lump removed successfully, but his owner had noticed the lump had returned, and it was getting progressively bigger.

His owner was keen to have the lump removed but given its size we had to consider what surgical approach would be best. Simply removing an eyelid lump is appropriate for lumps smaller than a third of the total eyelid length, and Barney’s lump was very close to this size.

 Eyelids are important for protecting the eye. They offer mechanical protection, produce liquid that make up part of the tears and spread the tears across the eye keeping it healthy. Therefore, the concern was that I may remove too much skin and reduce his eyelid function.

The decision was made to go to surgery. Barney has a heart murmur that has been previously investigated, so I chose drugs for his procedure that were a safer choice, given the known risk. To preserve eyelid function and given that most eyelid lumps are benign (non-cancerous), I chose to cut close to the lump when removing it. The remaining eyelid was stitched together, and I was pleased to find it wasn’t too tight.

At the post-operative checks, once the swelling had reduced, I could assess that his eyelid function was normal. We had sent the lump to the lab to be analysed and it confirmed it was the most common eyelid lump seen in dogs, a benign growth of an eyelid gland. The lump was removed in its entirety, but I still advised his owners to monitor for any recurrence.