Floppy Eyelid Syndrome: Quantifying the Effect of Horizontal Tightening on Upper Eyelid Position
Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, November 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Received 26 September 2006; received in revised form 24 January 2007; accepted 25 January 2007. published online 12 July 2007.
Purpose
To evaluate the change in upper eyelid position after horizontal surgical tightening in patients with floppy eyelid syndrome.
Design
Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series.
Participants
Eighteen patients with a clinical diagnosis of floppy eyelid syndrome.
Methods
Horizontal surgical tightening of the upper eyelid was performed by full-thickness wedge resection in 24 eyelids of 18 patients with floppy eyelid syndrome. Preoperative and postoperative upper eyelid position as measured by the margin reflex distance (MRD) was assessed. Student’s paired t test then was used to analyze the change in upper eyelid position after horizontal tightening alone of floppy upper eyelids.
Main Outcome Measures
Change in upper eyelid MRD after surgery.
Results
Preoperative MRD ranged from −0.5 to 4.0 mm, with a mean of 1.9 mm (±1.3 mm, standard deviation [SD]). Postoperative MRD ranged from 0.5 to 6.0 mm, with a mean of 3.2 mm (±1.4 mm, SD). The change in MRD ranged from −0.5 to 2.5 mm, with a mean of 1.3 mm (±0.7 mm, SD; P<0.001).
Conclusions
Horizontal upper eyelid tightening alone generally results in secondary improvement of the ptosis associated with floppy eyelid syndrome.
Available online: July 12, 2007.
1Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Lions Eye Institute, Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York.
2Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Correspondence to David M. Mills, MD, Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Lions Eye Institute, Albany Medical Center, 1220 New Scotland Avenue, Suite 302, Albany, NY 12159.
Manuscript no. 2006-1094.
The authors have no conflicts of interest related to the study.
ABSTRACT