An eyelid speculum for retracting a pair of eyelids, comprises: a first arm having a first blade portion contoured to generally conform to an eyeball globe and one of the pair of eyelids a second arm having a second blade portion contoured to generally conform to the eyeball globe an the other of the pair of eyelids and a mechanism carrying the first arm and the second arm. The mechanism is operable to hold the first arm and the second arm parallel to and in proximity to each other so that the first blade portion and the second blade portion may be inserted between said eyelids to engage said eyelids. The mechanism is further operable to move the first arm and the second arm apart from each other while maintaining the first arm and the second arm in parallel such that the first blade portion and the second blade portion retract said pair of eyelids. The mechanism advantageously moves away from the surgical field of the eye when retracting the eyelids.
