The Effect of Eyeliner Tattoo on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and the Ocular Surface

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine whether eyeliner tattoo affects the meibomian gland (MG) and ocular surface.METHODS: The medical charts of an eyeliner tattoo group (16 eyes of 8 patients) and a control group (16 eyes of 18 patients) were retrospectively reviewed. The ocular surface disease index questionnaire, ocular surface staining score, tear film break-up time (TBUT), upper eyelid abnormality, meibum expressibility and quality, and MG loss and tear film lipid layer thickness (LLT) which measured with LipiView® (TearScience, Morrisville, NC, USA) were compared. In the tattoo group, the correlation between the distance from the MG orifice to the tattoo pigment and other indices were analyzed.RESULTS: Compared to controls, the tattoo group had a significantly higher ocular surface disease index (p = 0.002), shorter TBUT (p < 0.001), higher vessel engorgement of the upper lid (p = 0.016), poorer meibum expressibility and quality (p = 0.006 and p < 0.001, respectively), higher MG loss (p < 0.001), and thinner LLT (p = 0.024). In the tattoo group, the closer the tattoo was to the MG orifice, the more the upper lid vessel was engorged and the more MG loss occurred (r(s) = −0.560, p = 0.024; r(s) = −0.563, p = 0.023, respectively), and a thinner LLT was observed (r(s) = 0.567, p = 0.022).CONCLUSIONS: Eyeliner tattoos may be related to changes in the lid margin, loss of the MG, and thinning of the LLT.