To report the relative frequency and clinical characteristics of patients with benign eyelid tumors.

A retrospective study of 192 consecutive patients admitted to Korea University Ansan Hospital with benign eyelid tumor between January 2009 and December 2014 was undertaken, and clinical records including age, sex, involved site, and pathology of tumors were reviewed retrospectively. All eyelid tumors were confirmed histopathologically.

The sexual distribution revealed 87 males and 105 females with benign eyelid tumors. The mean age at diagnosis was 42.6 ± 19.2 years. Molluscum contagiosum (5.5 ± 3.5 years) and pilomatrixoma (14.0 ± 15.6 years) were generally found in younger individuals, while seborrheic keratosis (60.2 ± 15.8 years) and squamous cell papilloma (50.5 ± 13.4 years) occurred predominantly in elderly patients. Tumors were most common on the upper lid (63.0%). The four most frequent subtypes were melanocytic nevus (37.5%), epidermal cyst (8.3%), squamous cell papilloma (5.7%), and seborrheic keratosis (5.2%).

The most common histopathological diagnosis of benign eyelid tumors was melanocytic nevus. The results of this study provide epidemiological information that will be useful for diagnosis and therapy of such tumors.