Complication of Temporalis Muscle Transfer in Lagophthalmos and Ectropion of Korean Leprosy Patients

Ahn, Sung Yul; Park, Hayang Joon; Kim, Jong Pill

Abstract

Recently, there has been a strong decrease in the number of temporalis muscle transfer(TMT) operations in cases of lagophthalmos. The primary cause of this decline is patient dissatisfaction with drawbacks of eye clinching in concert with mouth closure, ectropion and ptosis. This is mostly true of patients who are now more commonly exposed to urban social environments. In 1997, I discontinued the use of TMT as part of my combination treatment method reported in this journal. Since 1998, I have removed the fascia in 20 TMT cases due to complications in the upper and lower eyelid areas. I then corrected these complications using my combination method. I still use TMT in cases of lower lip drooping. Lagophthalmos patients are treated using my combination method of gold lid loading in the upper eyelid and Alloderm insertion in the lower eyelid through fixation of both ends to the medial and lateral canthal ligaments respectively. Previously, I recommended the use of conchal cartilage but noted the complication of cartilage warping which caused creating new partial ectropion several months later. Alloderm has shown no complications and the results of its use remain most satisfactory.