My 91 Year Old Father Who Is In Good Shape

Posted on Mon, 22 Apr 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : My 91 year old father who is in good shape

The other day one of his eyes closed and can't open it. Went to ER only an optometrist there but he told my father he should see a neurologist. He is going today since they weren't in over weekend. Optometrist told him to be sure and see neurologist asa

. Recently his daughter (my sister) died a few weeks ago from diagnosis of stage 4 esophageal cancer and died 7 weeks after diagnosis.(maybe some underlying stress? I hope!)

Any thoughts on what is causing this?

thanks

Answered by Dr. Dr.Dorina Gurabardhi (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Probably age related dropping eyelid.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

The symptoms of your father seem to be related to
senile or age-related ptosis or dropping eyelid.

Age is one of the common causes of dropping eyelid.

There are many medical conditions that can cause the ptosis.

Muscle issues, an eye tumor, neurological disorder or systemic disease like diabetes are some causes of drooping eyelids.

A neurological examination is needed to confirm the diagnosis.

I also recommend an MRI to exclude the possibility of an eye tumor.

I suggest to check the blood sugar level of your father to exclude diabetes.

If these diagnoses are excluded, the treatment usually consists in surgery.

I suggest to consult a surgeon for further evaluation.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad