What are the causes of a unilateral ptosis?
Ptosis is a clinical sign in which eye lid droop is seen. It is also called a lazy eye. It can be unilateral or bilateral. It is seen when there is nerve damaged (third nerve), trauma, levator muscle dysfunction, inflammation, lesion of lid or orbit. The differential diagnosis for unilateral ptosis includes: third nerve damage, congenital, direct trauma, posterior communicating artery aneurysm, Horner's syndrome, myasthenia gravis, infections, orbital myositis, Gullain Barre syndrome or Miller fischer syndrome. Usually there are some accompanying signs that indicate to the cause such as history of headache, diplopia, pain or fever. Diagnostic tools include: physical exam, medical history, other specific symptoms, slit lamp examination, tensilon test, visual field tests, thyroid profile or scans.
