Summary
Asymmetry of the eyelid crease is a major complication following double eyelid blepharoplasty;
the reasons are multivariate. This study presents, for the first time, a novel method,
based on high-definition magnetic resonance imaging and high-precision weighing of
tissue, for quantitating preoperative asymmetry of eyelid thickness in young Chinese
women presenting for blepharoplasty. From 1 January 2008 to 1 October 2011, we studied
1217 women requesting double eyelid blepharoplasty. The patients ranged in age from
17 to 24 years (average 21.13 years). All patients were of Chinese Han nationality.
Soft-tissue thickness at the tarsal plate superior border was 5.05 ± 1.01 units on
the right side and 4.12 ± 0.96 units on the left. The submuscular fibro-adipose tissue
area was 95.12 ± 23.27 unit2 on the right side and 76.05 ± 21.11 unit2 on the left. The pre-aponeurotic fat pad area was 112.33 ± 29.16 unit2 on the right side and 91.25 ± 27.32 unit2 on the left. The orbicularis muscle resected weighed 0.185 ± 0.055 g on the right
side and 0.153 ± 0.042 g on the left; the orbital fat resected weighed 0.171 ± 0.062 g
on the right side and 0.106 ± 0.057 g on the left. In conclusion, upper eyelid thickness
asymmetry is a common phenomenon in young Chinese women who wish to undertake double
eyelid blepharoplasty. We have demonstrated that the orbicularis muscle and orbital
fat pad are consistently thicker on the right side than on the left.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic SurgeryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Case studies in Asian blepharoplasty.Aesthet Surg J. 2011; 31: 171-179
- Rejuvenation of the upper eyelid.Facial Plast Surg Clin North Am. 2010; 18: 427-433
- Asian blepharoplasty–an overview.Orbit. 2011; 30: 58-61
- Asymmetry of the palpebral fissure and upper eyelid crease in Koreans.J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2007; 60: 251-255
- Ocular adnexal asymmetry in models: a magazine photograph analysis.Can J Ophthalmol. 2006; 41: 175-182
- Small-incision orbicularis-levator fixation technique: a modified double-eyelid blepharoplasty for treating trichiasis in young Asian patients.J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2011; 64: 1138-1144
- Strategies for a successful corrective Asian blepharoplasty after previously failed revisions.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004; 114: 1270-1277
- Combined anchor suture with external upper eyelid blepharoplasty in Asian patients.Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2010; 12: 230-234
- Magnetic resonance imaging characterization of orbital soft-tissue volume dynamics with age.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009; 124: 1362-1364
- The art of blepharoplasty.Facial Plast Surg. 2011; 27: 58-66
- Intratarsal fixation at the same level as the skin incision to reduce asymmetric double eyelids: evaluation of symmetry using photogrammetry.Ann Plast Surg. 2010; 64: 265-269
- Correction of superior sulcus deformity with orbital fat anatomic repositioning and fat graft applied to retro-orbicularis oculi fat for Asian eyelids.Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2011; 35: 162-170
- Ptosis after blepharoplasty.Ann Plast Surg. 1995; 34: 264-266
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 30, 2012
Accepted:
March 21,
2012
Received:
November 26,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Preoperative asymmetry of upper eyelid thickness in young Chinese women undergoing double eyelid blepharoplastyJournal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic SurgeryVol. 65Issue 9
- PreviewThe authors present a large series of 1217 patients undergoing double eyelid blepharoplasty in young asian women operated by a single surgeon.1 In order to evaluate the presence of eyelid asymmetries preoperatively the authors develop an original method to analyze the differences in thickness of both upper eyelids through MRI imaging. These differences are later confirmed through intraoperative weighing of the resected specimens. Although, as the authors acknowledge in their text, the intraoperative weighing is highly susceptible to researcher bias, their preoperative results through MRI imaging showing a high incidence of upper eyelid asymmetries are an important finding for plastic surgeons performing double eyelid blepharoplasty procedures.
- Full-Text
- Preview
