Surgical Results and Patient Satisfaction After A New Surgical Technique for Asian Medial Epicanthoplasty: A Modified Skin Redraping Method Using a Horizontal Point Incision and Staged 'Y-Shaped' Dog Ear Correction.

BACKGROUND

The double eyelid operation is the most common cosmetic procedure conducted in Asians. However, the epicanthal fold presents a conundrum that limits the cosmetic results of double eyelid surgery. Despite not being a pathologic condition, numerous procedures have been developed and introduced to address this issue, but these techniques have potential disadvantages that include an unnatural ciliary position of the lower lids and prominent scarring.

METHOD: A total of 156 patients who underwent a double eyelid operation with medial epicanthoplasty using the modified skin redraping method using a horizontal point incision and staged dog ear correction between 2015 and 2019 at our medical center were enrolled in the study. A single senior plastic surgeon performed all surgical procedures. The Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) questionnaire was used to obtain objective satisfaction scores, and patient satisfaction scores were obtained using some criteria.

RESULT: Of 147 patients, 8 (0.05) complained of visible scarring at the medial epicanthal and upper fold line region; there were only 2 (0.01%) epicanthal fold recurrences and 1.36% wound-related complications. The PROM scores and patient satisfaction scores showed a strong positive linear correlation according to linear regression analysis (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We performed double eyelidplasty with epicanthoplasty by using "a modified skin redraping method using a horizontal point incision and a staged 'Y-shaped' dog ear correction." Few complications were encountered, and almost all patients were satisfied with their surgical outcome as determined by the PROM questionnaire.