Conjunctival Cyst (on eyeball type)

[Telly]

This is a cyst that forms on the Conjuctiva, the coating on the white part of the eye. There is also another type, that forms on the other Conjunctiva, the lining on the inside of the eyelid - I'm not discussing that type in this thread. Only the eyeball type.

The first symptom was looking in a mirror and noticing a small reflection of light from my eye. That isn't unusual, if it comes off of the cornea, from the center of the pupil due to its curvature. Probably everyone notices that some time. Normal.
But this was next to the pupil, in the white area. Figured it was the angle. Could not reproduce it in the other eye no matter how I moved my head or lighting. Odd.

Seemed to be increasing as days went by. Wearing glasses, it was hard to see it in detail, as taking them off loses a lot of my near-vision into the mirror.
Finally got an idea, turned room lights off and used an LED flashlight to illuminate eye from different angles. Found it, urk! A white baggy-looking raised area starting from near the edge of my IOL (implanted lens, cataract surgery some years ago) and going towards edge of eye.

Went to my Ophthalmologist. He ID'd it right away. Said it was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Conjunctival Cyst he has seen (well over 5mm in length and has some width to it). Said sometimes they go away by themselves, suggested trying lubricating-type of tears drops, and antihistamine drops. If it doesn't go away, or I just get tired of it, then surgery to remove the cyst.

Wondering if anyone has had a Conjunctival Cyst, did it go away on it's own over time? If surgery was the solution, how was it done? Scalpel or other method? How was the actual operation for you? Any antisthetic (sp!) besides to the eye?

 

[swakyaby]

Many years ago, my father had a conjunctival growth on one eye that kept slowly getting larger. He finally had it removed by an ophthalmologist in surgery. He didn’t describe it in detail, but I’ve seen ophthalmologists do cataract surgery and imagine the process is similar. That is, an outpatient procedure involving plenty of topical eye drops to numb the cornea and the eyelids. A lid retractor to keep you from blinking while an assistant is frequently applying eye drops for moisture during the procedure. Minimal to no sedation so that you keep your eyes focussed and still, instead of rolling around. Tiny forceps and incredibly tiny scalpel. Great relief when the procedure is done.

Just my guess.

 

[swakyaby]

His conjunctival growth was called a pterygium, I recall.

 

[Bamaman]

I have a very small bump on the lower inside corner of my eye--where there is a small drain.

Went to the eye surgeon 2 days ago, and he said it was a small benign cyst. Said the drain is functioning behind it and just leave it alone if it's not causing any problems. The fix is worse than just leaving it since it's not affecting my sight.

 

[W2R]

His conjunctival growth was called a pterygium, I recall.

Oh I had a pterygium about 25 years ago! That was a long time ago so my memory could be less than perfect. IIRC my opthalmologist gave me a tiny bottle of eyedrops that cost $75, but they worked and got rid of it for me.