Characterizing Eyelid Growth and Development in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Infants: A Photographic Analysis

This study aims to characterize the final stages of eyelid development by assessing infants in the neonatal intensive care unit during a developmental period corresponding to the final weeks of gestation.

Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit were photographed on a weekly basis to generate a neonatal eyelid photo atlas. Morphological features of horizontal palpebral fissure, upper eyelid-to-brow, and medial and lateral intercanthal distances were measured, and the presence of vascularity and skin tones were recorded for each photograph.

Ninety-five photographs were obtained from a series of 19 subjects. For each of the anthropomorphic features, growth rates were determined using mixed-effects linear regression analysis. Growth rates for all features were well-described using linear growth. There were no correlations between gestational age and the presence of vascular features, although they were observed less frequently in darker skin tones.

While infant populations are subject to variation in eyelid features, the authors report visualized changes in eyelid structures ex utero with measurement of eyelid features. Features demonstrated linear growth rates, and serial photographs offer a route for the longitudinal assessment of eyelid development in the final weeks of gestation.