Transpalpebral Corrugator Resection: 25-Year Experience, Refinements and Additional Indications

Abstract

The senior author introduced the transpalpebral approach for the first time during the ASPS meeting in 1993. He has made some refinements in the technique and has developed newer indications for this procedure. These refinements, indications and the related new video are the subject of this report. The modifications in the technique are as follows: After elevation of the skin and the orbicularis muscle and dissection under the muscle, a thin layer of the depressor supercilii muscle overlying the darker and more friable corrugator supercilii muscle is removed. A fairly constant branch of the supraorbital nerve piercing this muscle medially is first identified on the surface and followed deep in the muscle using a mosquito hemostat. The muscle is then lifted, and then, the same nerve branch is identified above the periosteum. The segment of the muscle lateral to this nerve is then isolated and removed by first transecting it medially and then lateral to the nerve. A cephalic segment is isolated and removed using the coagulation power of the cautery to minimize the postoperative bleeding. The rest of the muscle is then removed in a piecemeal fashion as thoroughly as possible, including a lateral segment of the procerus muscle, the end point being visualization of the subcutaneous fat. If the intention of the surgery is to treat frontal migraine headaches, the supratrochlear and supraorbital arteries are also removed. If the nerve and vessel pass through a foramen, a foraminotomy is carried out on patients with migraine headaches. Two to three cc of fat is injected in the glabellar and corrugator sites in most patients to avoid any depression and to restore the lost glabellar volume. Beyond patients with male pattern baldness, those with a long forehead and those with overactive frown muscles but optimal eyebrow positions, this technique is now being used for those with proptosis, exophthalmos and those with eyelid ptosis who would not undergo ptosis correction to prevent elevation of the eyebrows, which exaggerates the proptosis or makes the eyelid ptosis more discernible. Additionally, a common indication for this surgery is in patients with frontal migraine headaches. This report highlights the refinements in the transpalpebral corrugator resection that have been implemented over the last 25 years and offers additional indications for its utilization.

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