The practice patterns in the management of sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelid in the Asia Pacific region

Purpose: To determine the practice patterns of ophthalmic plastic surgeons regarding the management of eyelid sebaceous carcinoma (SC). Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to oculoplastic surgical colleagues in the Asia Pacific region requesting clinical information and treatment approaches to SC. Results: The responses from 192 respondents from the Asia Pacific region was included and analyzed in this study. For initial diagnosis, most surgeons selected incisional biopsy (55%), followed by complete excision (35%). Initial workup was mainly by palpation of lymph nodes, chest X-ray, and computerized tomography scan (CT-scan) of the orbit. Conjunctival map biopsy was done in selected cases. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was done mainly for tumors larger than 10 mm. Management was mainly by surgical excision (5 mm margin) combined with adjuvant therapy in some cases, with radiotherapy being the most common. Margin status was determined most frequently by frozen section as evaluated by the pathologist (57%) followed by Mohs micrographic surgery (18%). Surveillance was based mainly on physical examination alone. Conclusion: The Asia Pacific oculoplastic surgeons prefer incisional biopsy for lesions suspicious of SC prior to definitive surgery. This is in contrast to survey results previously reported in other populations. Frozen section control (done by an oculoplastic surgeon with pathology support) is most commonly used for margin control and conjunctival map biopsies are done only in selected cases. Despite the potential benefits of SLNB, access and expertise in this area is currently lacking in the Asia Pacific region.