[Palpebral marginoplasty in the management of distichiasis: About 104 eyes]

Distichiasis is an anomaly of the of the eyelid margin characterized by the presence of a second row of eyelashes arising from the posterior lamella. It is a rare condition whose severity is related to corneal complications. There are two forms: congenital and acquired, the latter of which is the most frequent in our population, resulting mainly from chronic inflammation. There are several treatment modalities, the choice of which is up to the practitioner depending on the means at his or her disposal and the risk-benefit ratio. We report a series of 104 eyes (90 patients) undergoing surgery for distichiasis using the marginoplasty technique with labial mucosal autograft, collected between January 2000 and September 2021. The main indication was any distichiasis with more than seven lashes per eyelid. The mean age of the patients was 65.5 years. With a mean follow-up of over 24 months, a reduction in functional signs was noted in over 95% of cases. The success rate after marginoplasty with labial mucosal autograft alone was 82.7%. The recurrence rate was 17.3%, which patients underwent additional treatment by argon laser photoablation with very good final results (96% final success rate). Marginoplasty with labial mucosal autograft represents a technique of choice in distichiasis threatening the cornea, particularly in cases of distichiasis with a significant number of eyelashes to be treated.