This 64 year old had lower eyelid surgery through a skin incision to remove excess lower eyelid fat and skin. The surgery damaged the ability of the lower eyelid to hug the eye. Scarring pulled the lower eyelid altering its shape. She had trouble closing the eyes with constant dry eye symptoms and eye burning. To repair this situation, it is necessary to put skin back into the lower eyelid. Skin grafts are sometimes used for this purpose but they are disfiguring and the cosmetic results is unacceptable. The best approach is to vertically raise the cheek and then lengthen the lower eyelid from behind the eyelid. To do this, tissue from the roof of the mouth, called a hard palate graft, is used. This lengthens the eyelid and controls the shape at the same time. Because the graft needs to be immobilized for almost a week, during this time the eye is patched closed so only one eye is done at a time.
(Jun 3, 2020)