Boston — Surgery can improve eye comfort and quality of life for people with facial paralysis who are unable to completely close their eyes, HealthDay News reports.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary did pre- and postsurgical assessments of 37 patients with paralytic inability to completely close an eye. After eyelid weight placement, lower eyelid suspension or brow ptosis corrective procedures were performed, the patients reported a significant improvement in quality of life. They also reported a significant decrease in the amount of time their eye felt dry, irritated or scratchy.
Two patients developed a bacterial infection of the skin and underlying tissues in reaction to the eyelid weight, and one eyelid weight had to be removed.
The authors wrote that the inability to close an eye means a loss of protection for the cornea, which “can lead to exposure keratitis (inflammation of the cornea), corneal ulceration and potentially permanent vision loss.”
The study appears in the March issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
