Frontalis Suspension Using Autogenous Fascia Lata

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of frontalis sling operation with autogenous fascia lata. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 83 ptosis patients who had undergone frontalis sling with autogenous fascia lata from December 1997 to April 2003, and who were followed up for six months or more. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical features and the surgery outcomes. RESULTS: There were 55 males and 28 females with age ranging from 3 to 42 years (mean, 10.8 years). The ptosis was unilateral in 29 patients and bilateral in 54. With a mean follow-up of 23.3 months (range 6-70 months), 74 patients (89.1%) showed good results and 9 (10.8%) showed fair results. The summation of these two results indicated an overall satisfactory result of 100%. Superficial punctate keratopathy was the most common complication (38.5%), but most of them were transient and improved with time. Other complications were entropion (8.4%) and peripheral corneal opacity (2.4%). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that frontalis sling using autogenous fascia lata may be the best method for ptosis management in patients who have a severe ptosis with poor levator function.