Tick infestation of the eyelid.

Abstract

To report the rare occurrence of tick infestation of the eyelid margin. A 58-year-old woman was initially examined with a small yellow lesion of the left upper eyelid margin that appeared after she felt a sting near her eye. Close examination disclosed an insect body attached to the eyelid margin. En bloc excision of the insect with part of the eyelid was performed. Gross examination of the specimen identified the organism as the nymph stage of a bloated tick of the genus Hyalomma but of an uncertain species. Ticks (Hyalomma) can become embedded in the meibomian gland orifice and manifest as a mass at the eyelid margin.