Eyelid and Brow Rejuvenation: Technical Pearls and Outcomes of Upper Blepharoplasty with or without Ptosis Correction and Browlift.

BACKGROUND: Eyelid ptosis may present with upper lid dermatochalasis and brow ptosis. When indicated, ptosis correction (PC) is advocated during upper blepharoplasty (UB). Here, we aimed to report our outcomes following UB and PC.

METHODS: A retrospective review of patients that underwent UB from November 2018 to March 2020 was performed. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and revisions were recorded. Cox regression was performed to assess predictors of revision.

RESULTS: Overall, 278 patients with 533 UB were included. Mean age was 67.3 years. Mean follow-up was 8.3 months. In 169 (31.7%) cases, a browlift was performed. UB and PC were performed in 109 (20.5%) cases, of which 60 (55%) involved Müller's muscle conjunctival resection, and 49 (45%) were levator repairs. New dry eye symptoms lasting ≥3 months occurred in 4 (0.8%) cases, all of which resolved. Revision rate was 3.8% after UB (residual skin [n=11], hypertrophic scar [n=4], Herring's law-related ptosis [n=1]); versus 9.2% after UB and PC (overcorrection [n=4], residual skin [n=4], asymmetry [n=2]). Multivariable analysis demonstrated increased revision rates after UB and PC (p-value=0.008). There was no difference in revision rates between different techniques of PC.

CONCLUSIONS: In our study of 278 patients presenting for dermatochalasis, up to 21% of cases required ptosis correction in addition to upper blepharoplasty. Ptosis correction is a safe procedure when combined with upper blepharoplasty, regardless of technique used. The revision rate in our series was 9.2% after the combined procedure, which is greater than the revision rate of upper blepharoplasty only, however, comparable to the literature.