Operative technique for transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty

In the past 3 years, more than 125 patients have undergone primary and secondary lower blepharoplasty by the transconjunctival method. The ability to adequately remove fat with this approach has been impressive. Exposure of the central and medial fat compartments is excellent. The lateral fat pad area is not as easy to visualize, and care must be taken to assure that adequate fat removal is achieved. Although one might suspect that postoperative conjunctival irritation could be a problem with this procedure, this has been notably absent in our patient population. In addition, there have been remarkably few patients with dry eye complaints following transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty. The question of skin resection must also be addressed. Currently, we believe that the majority of patients seeking improvement of the lower eyelids benefit most by a transconjunctival blepharoplasty without skin resection (Figs. 3 and 4). When there is obvious skin excess, we believe that it is best approached by removing the fat through the transconjunctival incision and then removing skin with a simple skin flap or skin pinch technique. This must be done considerably more conservatively than has been recommended in the past, to retain a natural palpebral fissure. Secondary skin removal, if necessary, is a straightforward procedure that can be readily done under local anesthesia at a later date. Transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty has not been associated with prolonged (exceeding 1 month) lower lid retraction problems in any of our patients. The technique is easy to learn but does require some experience with the anatomy. The technique should become the basic procedure for correction of excess fat in the lower eyelids.