Advances in oculoplastic surgery.

Ophthalmic plastic surgery, a sub-specialty within ophthalmology, encompasses diagnosis and treatment of diseases and abnormalities of the eyelids, orbit, and lacrimal systems. Eyelid carcinoma is a more common entity as well as blepharoptosis seen in children and adults. It can usually be corrected by surgery involving the levator palpebrae superioris or a tarsofrontalis suspension using synthetic material or human tissue. Retraction of the upper eyelid, the opposite of blepharoptosis, may be seen in patients with thyroid eye (Graves') disease. Treatment by recession of the levator aponeurosis and Muller's sympathetic muscle yields excellent results. Blepharoplasty and other procedures frequently performed by the ophthalmic plastic surgeon can be done for cosmetic or functional (correction of vision) reasons and often in conjunction with other eyelid surgery such as ptosis repair.