Treatment of the hailstone

How can the hailstone be treated now? What options are open to you? In principle, hailstones can be treated conservatively or surgically.

Conservative means that one tries to get a problem under control with ointments, tablets etc. Surgically, on the other hand, means that a surgical operation is performed on the body. In the case of chalazion (the hailstone), the conservative way means that one tries to reduce the inflammation of the sebaceous gland with anti-inflammatory eye drops or eye ointments/creams and to make it easier for the body’s defenses to work on the inflammation.

Dry heat, such as by irradiating the eye with a red light lamp, can also be helpful and accelerate the healing process. It is also possible to inject cortisone into the affected area, which also has an anti-inflammatory effect and leads to a reduction in swelling and the disappearance of redness. If it is a rather large hailstone or if all other treatment attempts made so far have not worked, there is still the possibility of surgical intervention. This may sound dangerous at first, but in the end it is a very harmless procedure and routine for the specialist.

Preparation for surgery

Before the procedure can be performed, the patient must of course be thoroughly examined once again. This includes a good anamnesis (asking the patient about his previous medical history). In addition

An eye test with visual acuity determination was performed,
With the help of the slit lamp, the front part of the eye and the fundus of the eye are examined
The intraocular pressure is measured to prevent possible complications.

Procedure of the surgery

The hailstone operation itself is then only a very minor procedure, which is only performed under local anesthesia and not under general anesthesia. The affected area is anaesthetized with an anesthetic syringe, so that the patient will not feel anything at all. Using a holder specially developed for this purpose, a so-called chalazion clamp, the eyelid is folded over slightly to the outside and the hailstone is fixed firmly in a favourable position.

A small incision is then made across the inner side of the eyelid exactly above the swelling, standing perpendicular to the edge of the eyelid. As soon as the hailstone has been surgically opened, the surgeon can scrape out and completely remove the contents of the chalazion with another, specially made instrument. There is no need to worry about removing parts of the material that makes up the eyelid.The accumulation of secretion, which was the cause of the inflammation, is located in a space that is encapsulated by the body’s own defence processes and can be easily distinguished from the rest of the tissue and separated mechanically.

The capsule itself is then removed as far as possible to prevent a possible renewed accumulation of sebum secretion. Since the cut on the skin surface is so small, it is not even necessary to sew it up – the body does the closing all by itself and much better than you could with needle and thread. To prevent bacteria from settling and causing problems, an antibiotic ointment is applied after the operation and an eye bandage is applied, which should remain on the eye for the day of the operation.

After that, it is already over and the patient can be discharged home, now without hailstones and without any complaints. A longer-term impairment is not to be expected. As a rule, the patient can go about his usual business the very next day, but the eyelid itself remains slightly swollen and/or reddened for a few days.