Fat Injection as a Valuable Tool for Lower Eyelid Retraction Management: A Retrospective, Observational, Single Blind...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of autologous fat graft injection to correct lower eyelid position METHODS: A retrospective, observational, single blind, case-control study was carried out on 94 patients, presenting with lower eyelid retraction in 159 eyes. In the sub-population with monolateral eyelid retraction, the not affected site has been considered as a control and compared with the outcomes recorded after treatment of the contralateral side Follow-up at 12 months was performed with a subjective assessment carried out by a questionnaire administered to patients while objective result assessment was performed 12 months after surgery by two independent blind examiners.

The eyelid upward reposition has improved one year after fat grafting in both bilateral (1,52 mm) and unilateral (1,7 mm) population: the latter allowed to statistically validate (P<0.05) the result with respect to the not affected site.

This is the first paper that highlights the outcomes of sole fat injection in the treatment of lower eyelid retraction: blind objective evaluation of surgical outcomes along with a patient assessment of both functional and aesthetic improvement one year after surgery confirm its efficacy and reliability along with the first case/control outcome evaluation of the technique carried on in the sub-population of 29 patients affected by unilateral lower eyelid retraction that validate the average improvement of the retracted eyelid one year after fat grafting as statistically significant. Nevertheless, longer follow-up periods and a larger sample size are needed to thoroughly confirm surgical outcomes and statistical results.

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