ABSTRACT
Background: The floppy eyelid syndrome is characterized by rubbery tarsus and easily everted upper lid, chronic papillary conjunctivitis, and nonspecific irritative. Method: The authors report here the findings and their experience in ten consecutive cases with floppy eyelid syndrome treated at the Federal University of São Paulo, between Jannuary 2005 and July 2006. It was verified age, gender, presenting complaint, physical findings, associated local and systemic diseases, type of treatment and complications. Results: The majority of the patients were male (60%). The ages ranged from 28 to 62 (mean 46.5 years). Five patients presented with bilateral disease, and five presented with unilateral disease. The main presenting complaint in this series included eyelid swelling, foreign body sensation, pain and tearing. All patients studied presented obesity as associated systemic condition. Eight patients underwent surgical procedure. It was performed a lateral tarsal strip without periostal flap for lateral canthal fixation. Two patients were treated conservatively with some degree of improvement. All surgical patients had complete resolution of symptoms and normalization of eyelash position after surgery, with stable and good cosmetic appearance after a mean of 6 months of follow-up. Conclusions: The authors believe that surgical treatment is the best choice of management. Measuring upper and lower eyelid distraction should be included in the routine evaluation of all patients presenting with chronically irritated and tearing eyes. Control of associated systemic diseases, weight loss, and change of sleeping habits to avoid continued mechanical trauma may support the treatment success further.
Keywords: Conjunctivitis, etiology. Eyelid diseases. Eyelids, surgery