The buried vertical mattress: a simplified technique for eyelid margin repair.

We describe a new approach for the closure of eyelid margin defects. We conducted a prospective evaluation of patients undergoing the buried vertical mattress technique for full-thickness eyelid margin repair and found that 90 patients (follow-up, 3 to 18 months; average, 6 months) had eyelid margin defects closed with the use of a buried vertical mattress technique. There were no cases of dehiscence, and only 5 (5.5%) patients had minor notch formation. We conclude that the buried vertical mattress suture technique can be a safe and effective method to close eyelid margin defects while saving postoperative time and the cost of multiple sutures.