[Rari Plastic Surgery] The Most Common Complication of Lower Blepharoplasty: Lower Eyelid Ectropion

The most common reason ectropion symptoms appear is a complication after lower blepharoplasty.

It is one type of cicatricial condition, caused by wound contracture.

Lower blepharoplasty is a procedure performed on the lower eyelid. It removes protruding fat and trims sagging skin, helping to smooth the area under the eyes.

Although it is usually performed more often on middle-aged and older adults rather than younger people, according to the purpose of the surgery, these days younger people sometimes undergo the procedure as well, out of desire.

Although lower blepharoplasty may seem like a simple procedure, if too much skin is removed, ectropion, where the eyelid turns outward, can occur. To perform the surgery without complications, delicate design by an experienced surgeon is essential.

A well-performed lower blepharoplasty without complications can bring good results, but a poorly performed one can also cause serious complications.

Ectropion can develop for very complex reasons, such as:

1. not properly adjusting the amount of skin removed,
2. not fully understanding the overall pull and movement of the facial muscles, or
3. contracture of the surgical scar.

As shown in the photo above, if the condition is mild, it may not be very noticeable to the naked eye, but as it becomes more severe, eye redness, mucosal eversion, and conjunctival exposure can be seen.

In a similar context, there is ectropion that appears as a complication after entropion surgery.

The patient above underwent entropion correction surgery as a child because of entropion (inward-turning eyelids). As a surgical complication caused by failure to properly adjust the amount of skin removed during entropion surgery, ectropion developed from childhood, along with various uncomfortable symptoms, and the patient endured a long and difficult time until adulthood.

There is also ectropion that appears as a contracture response from scarring after trauma around the eyes.

Due to the aftereffects of scars left after an orbital complex fracture from an accident 10 years ago, severe ectropion developed only on the right eye. In cases like this, it is not simply that the skin has turned outward and sagged on the outside; it occurs together with adhesions inside the periosteum or retraction of the muscles, so an accurate diagnosis and a combined correction involving the skin, muscles, and cartilage are necessary.

Today, we looked at the most commonly seen type of cicatricial ectropion. Lower blepharoplasty and entropion surgery, as well as other trauma or burns, can also cause ectropion.

I hope you will continue to show interest in the other ectropion topics we will cover in the future. ^^