Adjuvant lateral canthal advancement in the surgical management of exophthalmic eyelid retraction.

The eye is convergent from the orbital axis when in the primary gaze position; greater projection of the lateral sclera results from the posterior location of the lateral orbital rim relative to the medial orbital rim. If the horizontal tarsal ligamentous band cannot lengthen to accommodate an increasingly exophthalmic globe in thyroid ophthalmopathy, a horizontally tight eyelid with increased exposure of the lateral sclera will result; thus, temporal flare is accentuated. Lateral canthal advancement was developed as an adjuvant procedure to reduce temporal flare in the surgical repair of thyroid-related eyelid retraction. Lateral canthal advancement is a theoretically rational and effective adjunct to retractor recession when horizontal tightness of the eyelid is present. In the horizontally tight eyelid, lateral canthal advancement is effective in enhancing the effect of retractor recession and in reducing temporal flare.