A Case Report of Primary Eyelid Tuberculosis

Abstract

Purpose: To report a rare case of primary eyelid tuberculosis treated using systemic anti-tuberculosis medications.Case summary: A 30-year-old male presented to our hospital with an upper eyelid mass in the left eye for 1 month. An atypical cystic mass, pale yellow in color with a smooth surface, was observed on the medial side of the left upper eyelid. There were no associated ophthalmic or systemic symptoms. Excisional biopsy of the mass was performed under local anesthesia and histopathological examination revealed chronic granulomatous inflammation with central Langhans-type giant cells. Acid-fast bacilli smear was negative, but polymerase chain reaction for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> was positive. There were no significant findings in blood tests and chest radiographs. The patient was diagnosed with primary eyelid tuberculosis and treated with systemic anti-tuberculosis medications for 6 months. There were no complications or recurrences during 1 year of follow-up.Conclusions: Although eyelid tuberculosis is rare, early diagnosis through biopsy is important when a granulomatous tuberculosis lesion is suspected. Delayed diagnosis can lead to serious cosmetic and functional complications. Appropriate systemic anti-tuberculosis medications are required to treat these cases.