The Classification and Clinical Characteristics of the Crow`s Feet in Koreans

ABSTRACT

Most common signs of human aging often include skin fold and wrinkles in the lateral canthal area. It is called "crow's feet". The accordion-like activity of the orbicularis oculi muscle during movements of facial expression accentuates this phenomenon because the muscle shortens but the skin does not. The purpose of this study is to present the classification of the crow's feet and to look for it's clinical characteristics in Koreans. The pictures of lateral view of the crows feet in 105 patients taken with digital camera are classified by their age, sex, types and degree of direction. Results show that there are three types of crows feet such as upper, lower and bidirectional types. Bidirectional type is the most common type(85%), lower directional type is 15% and upper directional type is 5%. In thirties, bidirectional type is 50% but the rate of this type increases in older groups. So in over sixties, bidirectional type is almost 100%. There are no differences between the two sexes. The degree of the direction of wrinkles increases in thirties and forties, but in fifties or over no difference was seen. In summary, this study could be helpful to decide the procedure in correction of the crow's feet.