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A Modified Subbrow Blepharoplasty for Correction of Severe Upper Eyelid Skin Laxity

  • Original Articles
  • Eyelid Surgery
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Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Periorbital aging is characterized by dermatochalasis, lateral hooding and malformation of multiple eyelid creases. Rejuvenation of periorbital region is of great concern in aging Asians, especially for the females. However, the conventional subbrow blepharoplasty was indicated for mild or moderate skin laxity. For severe laxity, double-eyelid incision is necessarily to be involved. This study aims to improve the severe upper eyelid dermatochalasis through an extended subbrow single-incision approach with desirable outcomes.

Methods

Patients underwent this surgical method from October 2020 to April 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. The redundant skin and orbicularis oculi muscle were excised through a spindle-like subbrow incision delicately designed in the sitting position. Surgical outcomes were evaluated by heights of designed line from the palpebral margin to the pupil center (HPPC), medial cornea (HPMC), and lateral canthus (HPLC) at different follow-ups. The overall satisfaction score of cosmetic outcomes was assessed by an independent surgeon and patients themselves based on the evaluation of: subbrow scar, eyelid symmetry, lateral hooding lifting, visual block improvement and brow shape.

Results

A total of 75 cases were reviewed, including 3 men and 72 women. The preoperative HPPC, HPMC, and HPLC were 4.27 ± 0.40, 4.72 ± 0.45 and 3.41 ± 0.35 mm. The values were postoperatively improved to 7.01 ± 0.46, 6.57 ± 0.34 and 5.69 ± 0.26 mm, respectively, presenting significantly different (p < 0.05). The mean surgeon satisfaction scores were 3.6 ± 0.6 (range, 2.0–4.0), and patient satisfaction scores were 3.5 ± 0.6 (range, 2.0–4.0). No hypertrophic scar, sunken upper eyelids or other complications was found.

Conclusions

The modified subbrow blepharoplasty method is an effective and safe alternative for correcting severe upper eyelid skin laxity, which can achieve both good cosmetic outcomes and functional improvement.

Level of Evidence IV

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Youth Foundation of China (82102354, 81401613).

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Author notes

  1. Yucheng Qiu and Fei Liu contributed equally to the acquisition, analysis, and treatment of data and should be viewed as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai 9th People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Yucheng Qiu, Fei Liu, Jun Yang & Xianyu Zhou

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  1. Yucheng Qiu
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  2. Fei Liu
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  3. Jun Yang
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  4. Xianyu Zhou
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jun Yang or Xianyu Zhou.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethical approval

The study was conducted with accordance to the Declaration of Helsinki and in accordance with the standards of good clinical care following local guidelines. No ethical approval was solicited due to the retrospective and observational character of this study.

Informed consent

Written consent was obtained from all patients included in this study within this manuscript for accessing their data for the purposes of this study. All patients in the images provided written informed consent for sharing their pictures.

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Qiu, Y., Liu, F., Yang, J. et al. A Modified Subbrow Blepharoplasty for Correction of Severe Upper Eyelid Skin Laxity. Aesth Plast Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-03973-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-03973-8

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