A prospective randomized study comparing incision and curettage with injection of triamcinolone acetonide for chronic chalazia

Purpose: to compare outcomes of intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (ta) injection and incision and curettage (i&c) in the treatment of chronic chalazion. methods: patients with chronic chalazion were randomized in two groups. the patients in the ta received an intralesional injection of ta and patients in the i&c underwent i&c. the patients were followed up 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 45 days after the procedures. we defined success as 90% regression in the size of the lesion. results: there were 26 patients in the ta and 25 patients in the i&c enrolled in this study. complete resolution was achieved in 16 patients (61.5%) in the ta group and 21 patients (84%) in the i&c (p ¼ 0.072). sex, initial size, and chalazion location did not influence treatment success in either group (p > 0.05). lesion recurrence occurred in 9 patients (34.61%) in the ta group and 2 (8%) in the i&c (p ¼ 0.04). the average times to resolution were 8.8 ± 5.6 and 5.1 ± 4.5 days in the first and second groups, respectively (p ¼ 0.03). drug deposition occurred in 24 (92.3%) patients in the ta group, and ecchymosis occurred in 14 (56%) patients in the i&c (p ¼ 0.004) group. intraocular pressure (iop) in the ta group and visual acuity (va) in both groups remained unchanged. conclusions: both ta injection and i&c modalities are effective in the treatment of chronic chalazia. advantages of i&c in comparison to ta include less recurrence, shorter duration of complications, and a higher success rate.