Congenital blepharoptosis, anisometropia, and amblyopia

A review of the records of 65 patients who had surgery for congenital blepharoptosis of the upper eyelid during a three-year period revealed the preoperative presence of anisometropia, strabismus, or amblyopia in 19 patients. Postoperatively, ten of the 65 patients developed or increased their astigmatism in the operated eye. In four of these patients amblyopia attributed to this postoperative astigmatism developed. The results of our study suggest that blepharoptosis surgery done in the first few years of life may contribute to the development of astigmatism and amblyopia in some patients.