The surgery involves shortening the muscles that hold the lid up. In adults, drooping eyelids, or ptosis, is a sign of eye-lid muscle weakness. Sometimes the weakness results from old age. Ptosis may also occur when injury or a disease such as diabetes, myasthenia gravis, stroke, or aneurysm inside the skull damages nerves or muscles. A physician must be consulted to determine the true cause of ptosis.
Treatment often necessitates treatment of the underlying cause.
If the eyelid sags because of an injury, surgery can strengthen the muscle by shortening it, or the eyelid can be supported by specially designed eyeglasses or contact lenses. An ulcer is an open sore. Corneal ulcers can be initiated by infections or foreign particles on the cornea. As with conjunctivitis, the infecting organisms may be bacteria or viruses. In either case, the sensitive cornea is very painful, the eyeball becomes pink or red, and vision is blurred behind the ulcer.