Secondary correction of unsatisfactory blepharoplasty: removing multilaminated septal structures and grafting of preaponeurotic fat.
Oriental blepharoplasty, commonly known as a "double eyelid operation," is the most frequently practiced cosmetic procedure in Orientals, who have probably become more fold conscious because of social westernization and an influx of Caucasians into their society. Anatomically, the upper eyelids of an Oriental are considerably different from those of a white person, and nearly half of Orientals have single eyelids. When performing blepharoplasty, an appropriate design and operative technique must be carefully selected, taking into consideration the anatomical characteristics of Koreans to obtain an aesthetically pleasing result. However, the incidence of complications is high. Patients who are faced with unsatisfactory results are often perplexed by the fact that such a commonly performed procedure could have a very high rate of dissatisfaction and that an improvement is not easy. An unfavorable result need not imply a postoperative complication, but only that the result is not acceptable to the patient, whose goal may not be based on good aesthetic principles. The most common sources of dissatisfaction are postoperative asymmetry and high placement of the lid fold. From 1991 to 1998, secondary blepharoplasty was performed on 72 patients by slitting transversely, removing the multilaminated septal structures exposed to the previous operative scar, spreading the preaponeurotic fat that extruded, and removing the septal structures into a space where the scar was eliminated to prevent secondary adhesion. The average age of the patients was 26.5 years, and the average follow-up period was 2 years. No remarkable complication was encountered after operation with this method, and the desired aesthetic improvements were achieved in the majority of the patients.