A new technique for the treatment of lacrimal gland prolapse in blepharoplasty.

The lateral temporal fullness of the upper eyelid in patients presenting for a blepharoplasty is sometimes due to a prolapse of the lacrimal gland. The operative procedures that attempt to reposition the migrated lacrimal gland have been either dangerous in that they cause a dry-eye syndrome or unsatisfactory in that they have a high rate of recurrence or other complications. A new and different operative approach to a herniated or prolapsed lacrimal gland deals with an extraglandular concept of repositioning the gland that corresponds to the general principles of hernial surgery.