This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Aesthetic outcomes of upper blepharoplasty unaffected by leaving preseptal orbicularis oculi muscle intact
Ophthalmic Plastic Reconstr Surg. 2011;27:195-197.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
When performing upper blepharoplasty, postoperative results are the same regardless of whether the preseptal orbicularis oculi muscle is left intact, a study suggested.
Fifteen consecutive patients with dermatochalasis of the upper eyelid participated in an interventional, randomized, double-masked left-right study. The preseptal orbicularis oculi muscle was removed in group 1 but was left intact in group 2. The patients scored their results at days 7, 30 and 90 based on postoperative symptoms of edema, hematoma, itching and pain.
Symptom scores were significantly higher on the seventh day in group 1 but leveled out on days 30 and 90, leading the authors to suggest that there is no postoperative advantage to removing the preseptal orbicularis oculi muscle in these cases.
"We think that the preseptal orbicularis oculi muscle does not play an important role in the preservation of the youthful fullness of the upper eyelid, since there was no difference between groups 1 and 2 in the final aesthetic result," the study authors said.