Infection after blepharoplasty with and without carbon dioxide laser resurfacing.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the rate of infection in patients who underwent blepharoplasty with and without carbon dioxide laser resurfacing.


METHODS
A retrospective, nonrandomized, consecutive case series.


METHODS
Eighteen hundred sixty-one patients who underwent upper or lower blepharoplasty, with or without carbon dioxide laser resurfacing.


METHODS
Charts of patients who underwent blepharoplasty, with or without laser resurfacing, were analyzed for the presence of postoperative infection, method of treatment, and possible sequelae.


METHODS
The rate of infection (%) was determined for each group of patients.


RESULTS
Infection occurred in 0.2% of patients who underwent blepharoplasty without laser resurfacing and 0.4% of patients who had adjunctive laser resurfacing. No permanent functional or cosmetic sequelae resulted from the episodes of infection.


CONCLUSIONS
Infection after blepharoplasty without laser resurfacing is uncommon, indicating that topical antibiotic ointment prophylaxis is a sufficient postoperative regimen. The use of adjunctive laser resurfacing may increase the infection rate slightly.
Carter
Susan R
SR
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. susanrcarter@earthlink.net
Stewart
Jay M
JM
Khan
Jemshed
J
Archer
Kathleen F
KF
Holds
John B
JB
Seiff
Stuart R
SR
Dailey
Roger A
RA
D019882:Blepharoplasty / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015817:Eye Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005143:Eyelids / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015361:Rhytidoplasty / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015595:Skin Aging; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control