Ectropion

The most common causes are:

• Senile: aging has tendency to generate soft tissue laxity; the lateral cantal tendon (tendon that is well anchored on the lateral margin of the orbit and defines the lateral angle of the eye through the lateral palpebral commissure and with the shape of the lateral exposure of the bulbar conjunctiva, the lateral white portion of the eye, "lateral scleral triangle) gives way to tension. This results in an increased convexity of the arch of the lower eyelid, which leads to an alteration of the normal tear flow to the tear duct. In addition, the orbicularis muscle of the eye (which is just below the skin layer) is also relaxed, resulting in the failure of structural support to the eyelid. As a result, the eversion of the eyelid greatly increases, and the skin layer also becomes looser, worsening the clinical picture.
• Cicatricial: The scar is by histological structure an inelastic tissue with a tendency to retract with unpredictable intensity. However, a few millimeters of retraction in the eyelid territory are sufficient to cause a marked eyelid distortion.

In some skin diseases (such as rosacea) the whole skin of the face is involved in a chronic inflammatory process with scarring progression over time. As a consequence of the scarring process, the lower eyelid may complicate into scarring ectropion, characterized by a taut, translucent skin furrowed by telangiectasias (small red branching vessels).

Post-traumatic scar retractions are also common to ectropion, particularly at the level of the lower eyelid. This process frequently occurs when the scars are perpendicular to the tarsal rima of the eyelid.

Other less frequent causes of ectropion include tumor outcomes and congenital forms of ectropion (rare).