ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Upper tarsal mechanical forces influence corneal epithelial thickness profile, which could modulate
corneal astigmatism. Upper
eyelid blepharoplasty reduces upper tarsal strength and may have an impact on ocular surface. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of upper
eyelid blepharoplasty on corneal epithelial thickness profile,
astigmatism and aberrations.
Methods:
Patients with dermatochalasis underwent bilateral upper
eyelid blepharoplasty. Anterior segment
optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) (Zeiss
Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT) and Pentacam (Oculus, Wetzlar
Germany) were performed before
surgery and in the 8th postoperative week. Corneal epithelial thickness, keratometry, aberrations and asphericity were considered for statistical purposes. Only right
eyes were considered. A p-value lower than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results:
Thirty
eyes of 30
patients were included. The degree of
astigmatism did not change after
surgery (0.95D vs 0.83D, p=0.23). The difference between preoperative and postoperative steepest axis was 3.1° (p=0.04) with a tendency to change toward the vertical meridian. Mean epithelial thickness was higher in the inferior region both pre- and postoperatively and did not change. ET in the superior octant was lower (42 µm vs 45 µm, p<0.01) and the difference between inferior and superior octants (I-S) was higher (7 µm vs 3 µm, p<0.001) before
surgery. There were no statistically significant changes in corneal aberrations (p=0.52) and asphericity (p=0.41) after
surgery.
Conclusion:
Our results support that upper
tarsus pressure influences epithelial thickness profile and, consequently, the corneal steepest keratometry. These results
lead us to postulate that upper
eyelid blepharoplasty may influence biometric and keratometric measurements.
