[Patient satisfaction after transverse blepharotomy (Wies procedure) in the management of senile entropion - a postoperative analysis].

BACKGROUND

Senile entropion is a common pathology of the aging lid. Chronic irritation of the conjunctiva and/or cornea is bothersome to the patients and may cause severe complications. Surgical intervention is typically required. We present data from a postoperative telephone interview of 38 patients undergoing 43 entropion repairs, which were performed as transverse blepharotomy according to Wies in the modification of Collin.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

In a retrospective study 43 surgeries were evaluated. Mean follow-up time was 34 (6-96) months. 8 entropions were recurrencies, one surgery was performed after ectropion. Patient satisfaction, complications and symptoms after surgery and frequency of repeated surgery were evaluated by sending a questionnaire with subsequent telephone survey.

RESULTS

The transverse blepharotomy was successful in 31 cases (91.2 %) as a primary surgical intervention. In recurrencies, a successful result was obtained in 8 lids (88.9 %). 4 lids underwent further surgical procedures: 2/43 eyes developed another entropion (4.7 %), one exhibited overcorrection/ectropion and one developed a lid malposition which could not be exactly specified during telephone interview. 2 patients complained of newly appearing dry eye symptoms/foreign body sensation (4.7 %) and one each suffered from granuloma due to incompletely removed suture material and fistulation.

CONCLUSION

Although being a historically "old" surgical technique to treat involutional entropion, horizontal blepharotomy according to Wies proved successful in the vast majority of our patients. The overall success rate in our series was 90.7 % and rose to 91.2 % in cases of primary surgery. Even in recurrent disease, 88.9 % of surgeries resulted in sustained correction of the lid malposition.