To report a rare case of upper eyelid schwannoma presenting as a chalazion.

A 54-year-old male presented to our clinic with a slowly growing, painless recurred mass located in the middle area of the right upper eyelid margin. Surgical incision had been performed on a similar mass two year previous, although no histological analysis had been performed. On examination, a 4 × 3-mm-sized, firm, nonpigmented mass was palpable in the right upper eyelid, and no signs of neurofibromatosis were present elsewhere. The lesion was initially thought to be an eyelid mass, so we performed an excisional biopsy under local anesthesia. The lesion was easily isolated from the surrounding tissue and was excised completely. Histopathologically, the excised mass showed a compact arrangement of spindle cells forming palisades with Verocay bodies (Antoni A patterns). Immunohistochemistry revealed diffuse and strong S-100 protein positivity. These findings resulted in the diagnosis of eyelid schwannoma.

Because of its rarity and solitary feature, eyelid schwannoma can be confused with chalazion. Thus, ophthalmologists should consider schwannoma in the differential diagnosis of a slowly growing, painless recurred mass or a lesion with malignant transformation after incomplete excision.