A transverse ligament located anterosuperiorly in the lower orbital fat space restricts lower eyelid retraction in the Mongoloid eye
Received 26 September 2006; accepted 14 June 2007. published online 28 July 2007.
Summary
We previously reported that a lower positioned transverse ligament, which was identified just above the fusional line between the orbital septum and the levator aponeurosis or anteroinferiorly in the upper orbital fat space, determines the lower position of the preaponeurotic fat, and restricts the upper eyelid retraction causing the external features that define the appearance of the Mongoloid eye. Because the narrow palpebral fissure of the Mongoloid eye is composed of the restricted upper eyelid and the restricted lower eyelid, we surmised that the ligamentous tissue, which is analogous to the lower positioned transverse ligament in the upper eyelid, might also exist in the lower eyelid.
aDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
bDepartment of Anatomy, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
Corresponding author. Address: Shinshu University School of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan. Tel.: +81 263 37 2830; fax: +81 263 37 1920.