Minor Eye Procedures

Many chalazia — particularly small ones detected early — will resolve with consistent warm compress therapy (10 minutes, 4 times daily) and lid hygiene over 4–6 weeks. The heat liquefies the inspissated meibum blocking the gland, and gentle massage can help it express. However, chalazia that persist beyond 6 weeks despite proper warm compress treatment, or that are large, are very unlikely to resolve without intervention. At that point, incision and curettage is the appropriate next step — not more antibiotics, which treat bacterial infection (styes) not sterile cysts (chalazia). If you are unsure whether your eyelid lump is a stye or a chalazion, come in for an assessment — the treatment is completely different for each.

Washing the eye with clean water immediately after a foreign body exposure is appropriate — it may flush out a loose surface particle. But if the foreign body sensation persists after washing, the particle is embedded in the cornea and cannot be washed out. Attempting to remove it at home — with a finger, cotton bud, or any instrument — invariably worsens the injury, increases the risk of infection, and can cause corneal perforation. Metallic foreign bodies begin to rust within 24 hours, making removal progressively harder and the resulting scar larger. Please come to us on the same day — foreign body removal is a quick, painless in-clinic procedure under topical anaesthetic drops. The sooner we see you, the smaller the scar.

This is the question almost every patient asks before their first injection — and the answer is almost always a relieved surprise. With adequate topical anaesthetic drops, the injection itself is felt as mild pressure rather than pain. The povidone-iodine preparation may sting briefly. Most patients describe their first injection as far less uncomfortable than they feared. After the injection, the eye may feel gritty or slightly sore for a few hours — similar to an abrasion. Blurred vision immediately after the injection is common as the drug disperses through the vitreous — this clears within hours. The most important thing to watch for after an intravitreal injection is any sudden onset of severe pain, significant vision loss, or increasing redness in the days following — these may be signs of endophthalmitis, which is a rare but serious complication requiring immediate attention. We provide an emergency number with every injection — use it without hesitation if anything concerns you.

It matters enormously — because the treatment is completely different. A stye (hordeolum) is an acute bacterial infection of an eyelash follicle (external) or meibomian gland (internal). It presents as a red, painful, tender swelling — often with a yellow head. It responds to warm compresses and, if needed, oral antibiotics. A chalazion is a chronic, sterile, painless granulomatous inflammation of a blocked meibomian gland. It does not respond to antibiotics. It requires incision and curettage once it has failed to resolve with warm compresses. A stye can evolve into a chalazion as the acute infection resolves but the blocked gland remains. Treating a chalazion with repeated antibiotics — which is common in general practice — wastes months and changes nothing. A correct diagnosis at the first visit saves both time and money.

Not necessarily. A small, stable, non-progressive pterygium that is not approaching the visual axis, not causing significant astigmatism, and not causing symptoms beyond occasional redness does not need to be removed urgently. UV-protective sunglasses to prevent growth, and lubricating drops for comfort, are appropriate management for a stable pterygium. The indications for surgery are: encroachment toward the visual axis (within 2–3mm of the corneal centre), induced astigmatism causing blurred vision, chronic inflammation that does not respond to lubricants, or progressive growth documented on serial photography. If your pterygium is being monitored, regular annual review is appropriate. If it has not been recently assessed, come in for a baseline measurement and photograph — so we have a reference point to track any future growth.

This is the most common misconception about C3R — and it is important to be clear. Corneal cross-linking does not improve vision. It does not flatten the cone. It does not reduce the keratoconus that is already present. What it does — and what it does very reliably in approximately 90–95% of cases — is halt further progression. It stabilises the cornea at its current shape and prevents the continued steepening, thinning, and irregular astigmatism that untreated progressive keratoconus causes. For the minority of patients who notice some flattening after C3R (reported in some studies), this is a bonus — not the expected outcome. The way to think about C3R is this: it does not give you better vision today, but it protects the vision you have for the future. Without it, in a progressing keratoconus, glasses and soft lenses eventually stop working — and the only options become rigid lenses or corneal transplantation. C3R is what prevents that trajectory.

At Netram, yes — for any recurrent, atypical, or clinically suspicious chalazion, histopathology is sent as standard. Here is why. Sebaceous gland carcinoma — a malignant tumour of the meibomian glands — is the most common periocular malignancy in India, and it classically presents as a recurrent chalazion. It has been reported repeatedly in medical literature as a tumour that was treated as a chalazion through multiple I&C procedures before finally being biopsied and identified as cancer — at which point it had spread. Sending chalazion currettings for histopathology is a simple, low-cost step that can be life-saving. We do not charge extra for this — it is part of responsible ophthalmic practice. If another clinic performed your chalazion I&C without sending the material for histopathology, and the same chalazion has returned, please come in for a re-assessment.

Same-day assessment is available at Netram for acute eye emergencies during clinic hours — corneal foreign body, acute eye pain, sudden vision loss, chemical splash, trauma, or a rapidly progressing infection. Call us on +91 93199 09455 or WhatsApp us and we will guide you on coming in immediately. Do not wait for a routine appointment for any of these conditions. Corneal foreign bodies are best removed on the same day. Chemical splashes require immediate irrigation. Sudden vision loss may be a central retinal artery occlusion — a time-sensitive emergency where treatment within hours can save vision. When in doubt — call us. We respond in under 10 minutes on WhatsApp.