Outcomes in silicone rod frontalis suspension surgery for high-risk noncongenital blepharoptosis

To evaluate the outcomes of silicone rod frontalis suspension for complicated cases of ptosis with poor levator function.

A retrospective interventional case series of consecutive patients undergoing silicone rod frontalis suspension by 2 surgeons over 20 years generated records of 51 eyelids (33 patients) with ptosis secondary to cranial nerve III palsy, myasthenia gravis, chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, or oculopharyngeal dystrophy. Outcome measures included postoperative change in eyelid height, lagophthalmos, and corneal fluorescein staining; need for reoperation; patient and physician satisfaction; grading of postoperative photographs; and interobserver agreement.

Forty-five percent of patients had preoperative corneal staining. Surgery resulted in a significant increase in eyelid height (+2.8 mm; p < 0.0001), lagophthalmos (+0.4 mm, p < 0.0001), and corneal staining grade (+0.3 units; p = 0.02). Most patients achieved a subjectively acceptable result. Patient and physician agreement with outcome assessment was good (kappa = 0.65, p < 0.0001). Twenty eyelids (39%) required revision of the silicone sling, most often for adjustment of eyelid height. Survival analysis differed by diagnosis (p = 0.0154) and was most favorable for patients with myasthenia gravis. Interobserver agreement on postoperative photographs was marginal.

Silicone rod frontalis suspension surgery increases the eyelid height in complicated blepharoptosis patients with minimal eyelid excursion. Patients and physicians concur closely regarding satisfaction; masked assessment of photographic outcome parameters by observers yields marginal agreement. Because most patients undergoing this procedure have a narrow window for appropriate postoperative eyelid height, a relatively high proportion of patients required revision. Silicone rod frontalis suspension surgery is chosen in these challenging cases for the ease of adjustment.