Purpose: To report a case of an eyelid mass that was found to be a rigid gas-permeable contact lens that had migrated into the intrapalpebral tissue and to provide a brief review of the literature on intrapalpebral migration of contact lenses.
Design: Interventional case report and review of the literature.
Methods: The case is described, and the literature is reviewed.
Main outcome measures: Clinical presentations and mechanisms of intrapalpebral contact lens migration are discussed.
Results: A patient had a mass on the left upper lid 3 years after she stopped wearing gas-permeable contact lenses. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a curvilinear signal in the area of the mass. Surgical exploration revealed a rigid gas-permeable contact lens entrapped within a fibrous capsule located within the eyelid tissue. A review of the literature revealed several reports of intrapalpebral migration of hard contact lenses, but to our knowledge, this is the first such migrated lens to be imaged on MRI.
Conclusions: Intrapalpebral contact lens should be in the differential diagnosis of upper eyelid mass in patients with a history of contact lens wear. Magnetic resonance imaging may be a useful modality for imaging these rigid gas-permeable lenses.