This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Cosmetic Surgery/ Procedures  • Oculoplastic Surgery  • Ophthalmology  • Dry Eye Syndromes  • Alert me on articles by topic

Daryoush Saadat, MD; Steven C. Dresner, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2004;6:101-104.

Objectives  To assess the safety of blepharoplasty in patients with preoperative dry eyes and to report our surgical technique.

Setting  Private practice with academic affiliation.

Design  Retrospective medical chart review of 67 patients with preoperative dry eyes who underwent blepharoplasty. The technique was modified by preserving the orbicularis oculi muscle and its innervation during upper blepharoplasty.

Main Outcome Measures  The severity of preoperative and postoperative eye dryness by patient survey.

Results  Of the 67 patients, 5 had worsening, 5 had improvement, and 50 had no change in the severity of their dry eyes. Seven patients could not be located for the follow-up survey. Preserving the orbicularis did not affect the cosmetic results.

Conclusions  By preserving the orbicularis muscle and its innervation, the dynamics of eyelid closure, tear pumping, and tear distribution are not affected. Blepharoplasty can be a safe operation in patients with dry eyes.

From the Departments of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (Dr Saadat) and Ophthalmology (Dr Dresner), Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Dr Saadat is in private practice in Beverly Hills, Calif.