title: [Complications of blepharoplasty].
abstract: Blepharoplasty complications are infrequent, most often minor and transitory, rarely major and permanent with functional or esthetic consequences. Treatment is above all preventive: screening at risk patients with a history of ophthalmic problems, but also general illnesses that would contraindicate blepharoplasty. Patients must be informed of possible risks through informative booklets with the most important points underlined. Complications can be purely ophthalmological, the more serious sequelae being partial or complete visual loss due to ischemic optical neuropathy, with very poor prognosis, or more rarely compression of the ocular globe by intraorbital hemorrhage, which has a better prognosis provided the origins are quickly recognized and treated immediately. Other visual complications include oculomotor problems, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, epiphora, and chemosis of lymphatic origin. Eyelid complications are more frequent: ptosis on the upper eyelid or lagophthalmia caused by incorrect resection of the skin, scarring and eyelid fold anomalies. The most serious esthetic complication is the malposition of the lower eyelid, which can manifest as retraction, lagophthalmia, ectropion, deformation of the external canthus, or lower eyelid tissue relaxation. These malpositions are quite often minor, sometimes reversible, but at times major, with psychological, esthetic and functional consequences that are difficult for the patient. Other local complications also arise: enophthalmia with a sunken lid, as well as under- and overcorrection. General complications can include scarring related to pigmentation problems and residual hematomas, and exceptionally infections going as far as the orbital fat tissue. Finally, other complications are related to new laser surgical techniques that are responsible for ectropion of the lower eyelid and even burns or residual redness, or complications related to periocular injections of filling material. A comprehensive review of prevention, diagnosis, and management of complications after blepharoplasty is presented.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie et Chirurgie Plastique et Reconstructive, Fondation Rothschild, 25, rue Manin, 75019 Paris.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morax
mesh_terms: D019882:Blepharoplasty / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans