[Blepharoplasty: to suture or to use cyanoacrylate?].

OBJECTIVE

To study the safety and surgical time required when using the tissue adhesive 2-ethyl-cyanoacrylate compared with conventional suture in upper lid blepharoplasty.

METHOD: A retrospective study was performed on 40 eyes of 20 patients who underwent bilateral upper lid blepharoplasty. In 7 patients, continuous non-absorbable suture (6-0 nylon monofilament Ethilon(®), Ethicon Inc., Somerville, NJ) was used for closure of the incision and in 13 patients 2-ethyl-cyanoacrylate (Epiglue(®), Meyer -Haake, Germany) was used. The variables studied were intraoperative time required to close the incision, the cost of the material used and the incidence of infections and suture dehiscence.

RESULTS

The average time taken to close the incision was 6.069 minutes with cyanoacrylate and 11.914 minutes with conventional suture (P<.05). The price of surgical material used was practically similar. No cases of infection or wound dehiscence were found.

CONCLUSION

The closure of the incision in upper lid blepharoplasty using 2-ethyl-cyanoacrylate is a safe, effective, and faster, but not less expensive method than conventional suture.