Fear of surgery causes complete resolution of a post-strabismus surgery persistent pyogenic granuloma: a case report

Abstract

This is a case of persistent pyogenic granuloma (PG) following strabismus surgery in a young female. Although she was prescribed a routine post-operative medication, frequent steroids, and topical antibiotic eye drops and ointments, two weeks after surgery, she developed an inflamed PG at the surgical site. Frequent steroid drops and Tobramycin/dexamethasone eye ointment were prescribed. The lesion did not regress after two months of using topical medications, so surgery was scheduled. However, two weeks after the surgery decision, the patient reported an improvement and regression of the lesion. The lesion disappeared in four weeks. The patient confesses that she did not use the topical ointment before and just started using it when we scheduled her for the second surgery because she was scared of surgery. Fear of surgery seems to improve compliance with medical treatment.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Conjunctival Tumor, Infection; Pyogenic Granuloma; Strabismus Surgery

Citation: AlHarkan DH. Fear of surgery causes complete resolution of a post-strabismus surgery persistent pyogenic granuloma: a case report. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2025;29(5):433-436. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v29i5.2863

Received: April 12, 2025; Revised: May 12, 2025; Accepted: May 13, 2025