Long term follow up of mucous membrane grafting for cicatricial ectropion in Ichthyosis: A case report

Treatments for Non-Syndromic Inherited Ichthyosis, Including Emergent Pathogenesis-Related Therapy

The term 'inherited ichthyosis' refers to a heterogeneous group of mendelian disorders of cornification that involve the integument with varying degrees of scaling. The management of ichthyosis poses a challenge for most physicians. Treatment options proposed in the literature include moisturizers, topical keratolytics, topical and systemic vitamin D analogues, and topical and systemic retinoids; however, some of these modalities are less reliable than others. Despite the therapeutic impasse imposed by the options above, the emergence of pathogenesis-based treatments along with novel gene therapies appear promising and hold the potential to halt or even revert disorders that arise from single genetic mutations, although research is still quite lacking in this domain. Hence, this review aims to highlight the various treatment modalities available for the management of the cutaneous manifestations of non-syndromic inherited ichthyosis, with an added emphasis on pathogenesis-targeted therapies.

Successful correction of ichthyosis-related ectropion by autografts

Ectropion is a rather frequent complication of ichthyosis with negative functional and esthetic impact. Lid surgery can provide significant improvement. We report on a series of four ichthyosis patients with ongoing bilateral eye problems despite intense medical treatment (mean age 27.8 ± 14.1 years). All patients suffered from lagophthalmos. Two of the patients had only lower lid ectropion. In two of the patients' ectropion was forming on the upper lid in addition to the lower lid when closing the eye. In three of four patients, ectropion was repaired by skin grafts from the supraclavicular region. In a child with lower and upper lid ectropion prepuce was used for repair surgery. At the end of the follow-up period of about 23.0 ± 12.7 months, none of the patients revealed lagophthalmos or corneal exposure. No intraoperative or postoperative complications have been observed in our patients. Ichthyosis patients with ectropion resistant to medical treatment, benefit from surgical treatment with full layer autografts. In boys, prepuce can be successfully used as autograft.

Management of congenital ichthyoses: European guidelines of care, part two

These guidelines for the management of congenital ichthyoses have been developed by a multidisciplinary group of European experts following a systematic review of the current literature, an expert conference held in Toulouse in 2016, and a consensus on the discussions. These guidelines summarize evidence and expert-based recommendations and intend to help clinicians with the management of these rare and often complex diseases. These guidelines comprise two sections. This is part two, covering the management of complications and the particularities of some forms of congenital ichthyosis.

Non-surgical management of congenital ichthyosis using hyaluronic acid gel injection

AIM

To test if hyaluronic acid gel injection in the upper eyelid achieves correction of congenital cicatricial ectropion and reduction in lagophthalmos, in preparation for intraocular surgery.

METHODS

This case reports the long-term outcome of hyaluronic acid gel injection in the upper eyelid for the correction of ectropion prior to cataract surgery. One millilitre of hyaluronic acid gel was injected in both the upper eyelids of a child with congenital ichthyosis in the suborbicularis plane, prior to cataract surgery.

RESULTS

Lagophthalmos reduced by 15 mm in the right eye and 13 mm in the left eye. Subsequently, the child underwent cataract surgery without any complications.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrate the long-term outcome of using hyaluronic acid gel injection for successful, non-surgical correction of cicatricial ectropion in ichthyosis.