Abstract

Primary mucinous carcinomas of the eyelid has seldom been reported clinically. It is a very rare low grade malignancy arising from the sweat glands of the skin. It commonly arises in the head and neck region, with eyelids being one of the most common sites. This communication reports a 71-year-old male with a progressive painless nodular swelling on the upper left eyelid for 3 years. Initially thought to be a benign vascular mass due to telangiectasia, it was surgically excised with no touch technique with 1mm clear margin on all sides and the subsequent defect was closed by primary suturing of healthy margins. Histopathology revealed primary mucinous carcinoma with clear margins and the patient is on follow up. Clinicians should be able to recognize this lesion, distinguish between benign and malignant cases clinically and employ the described surgical excision technique to achieve the desired results.