title: Reanimation of the lagophthalmos using stainless steel weight implantation; a new approach and prospective evaluation.
abstract: Weight implants have been used for over 30 years in surgical rehabilitation following lagophthalmos. However, there has been a renewed interest among ophthalmologists in recent years. The weight implant technique combined with lateral canthus resuspension was performed on 22 eyes in Thai patients. It is a reliable method for correcting lagophthalmos and ectropion. In previous studies almost pure gold was used in 99.99% of eyelid implants. However, we wanted to use other materials which are not expensive and are readily available. A stainless steel plate was selected. The majority of our surgeries were done with a stainless steel weight implant of 1.368 g. Patients were followed for 7 to 55 months, and no rejections of the implants were observed. This study achieved a > or = 90% success rate, and showed that a stainless steel plate is an alternative to gold for the weight implant technique.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Section, Phra-Pradaeng Hospital, Samuthprakarn, Thailand.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuntheseth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001763:Blepharoptosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005143:Eyelids / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D007918:Leprosy / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009886:Ophthalmoplegia / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013193:Stainless Steel
chemical_list: D013193:Stainless Steel