Purpose: Upper eyelid retraction is the most common sign of thyroid eye disease (TED). The results of traditional surgical procedures to correct upper eyelid retraction have been limited by unreliable postoperative eyelid height and contour. We investigate the outcome of the surgical correction of upper eyelid retraction using a modification of the full-thickness blepharotomy technique initially described by Elner et al.
Methods: Fifty-three patients (78 eyelids) underwent a modified full-thickness blepharotomy.
Results: Symmetry (within 1 mm) was achieved in 40 patients (75.5%) and symmetry (within 2 mm) was achieved in 43 cases (81.1%). Of the 53 patients, 8 (15.1%) required reoperation.
Conclusions: Our surgical approach can be performed efficiently and produces predictably satisfactory eyelid height even in severely retracted eyelids.