Lateral Tarsal Strip Complications With and Without Conjunctiva Stripping

The lateral tarsal strip (LTS) procedure is commonly used to correct eyelid malposition. When performing LTS, some surgeons elect to remove conjunctiva from the tarsal strip, while others do not. It has been hypothesized that without conjunctival stripping, the buried conjunctival tissue can cause complications such as inclusion cysts and granulomas. However, there is limited data comparing LTS cases with and without conjunctiva removal. The authors sought to evaluate whether conjunctival stripping had any impact on complication rates with LTS.

LTS operations for ectropion correction were retrospectively reviewed and were separated into 2 cohorts, Con (conjunctiva not removed) or Coff (conjunctival removed). Charts were reviewed for outcomes and complications including inclusion cyst formation, granuloma formation, wound dehiscence, infection, and focal rim tenderness.

The complication rate was 10% versus 8% for Con versus Coff respectively ( p = 0.54). The common complications of LTS surgery were granuloma (4%), wound dehiscence (3%), focal rim tenderness (3%), and infection requiring antibiotics (<1%). There was no significant difference in these complications between the Con and Coff cohorts.

Complications in both groups were minimal, similar to prior studies, and there was no difference between the 2 cohorts. While it has been suggested that buried conjunctiva may result in increased complication rates, the author's findings suggest that removing the tarsal conjunctiva is a superfluous step in the LTS surgery and does not affect complication rates.