An Anatomic Study of the Infraorbital Fat Compartments in Adult Cadavers

Lee, Yoon Jung; Kang, Il Bong; Shin, Sun Young; Paik, Doo Jin

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study investigated the anatomy of infraorbital fat and the relationship between surrounding structures and infraorbital fat.
METHODS
Forty-one orbits from adult Korean cadavers were dissected. Among them 20 orbits were male and 21 orbits were female. The cadavers were perfused and embalmed in formalin solution. The skin and orbicularis oculi muscle were dissected to expose the arrangement and compartments of infraorbital fat. A punctal probe was used to find a deeper fat compartment lying under the another compartment. The width of each compartment and the distances from the inferior orbital rim and from the lower lid margin to the topmost point of each compartment were measured using a digital caliper. The distance from the top of the medial compartment and lower lid margin to the first appearance of the inferior oblique muscle, located between the medial and the central fat compartments, were measured, respectively.
RESULTS
The width of the medial compartment was 11.49+/-2.54 mm, the central compartment was 21.78+/-5.69 mm, and the lateral compartment was 17.94+/-4.99 mm. The distance from the inferior orbital rim to the medial compartment was 8.13+/-2.72 mm, to the central compartment was 9.91+/-3.44 mm, to the lateral compartment was 9.58+/-3.76 mm. The distance from the lower lid margin to the medial compartment was 5.55+/-1.22 mm, to the central compartment was 7.09+/-3.22 mm, and to the lateral compartment was 5.41+/-3.07 mm. The distance from the inferior oblique muscle to the medial compartment was 9.09+/-2.63 mm, and to the lower lid margin was 13.60+/-2.27 mm.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study evaluates the normal anatomy of the infraorbital fat compartments in Korean patients and suggests a useful index for lower blepharoplasty and lower orbital surgery.