Upper tarsus pressure appears to affect epithelial thickness profile and, as a result, the corneal steepest keratometry, according to a small study in a recent issue of Clinical Ophthalmology.1
Specifically, 30 eyes of 30 patients show the difference between preoperative and postoperative steepest axis was 3.1° (P = 0.04) with a propensity to change toward the vertical meridian. Additionally, mean epithelial thickness (ET) was higher in the inferior region both pre- and postoperatively and did not change. Further, ET in the superior octant was lower (42 µm versus 45 µm,
P < 0.01), and the difference between inferior and superior octants (I-S) was higher (7 µm versus 3 µm, P < 0.001) pre-surgery. Finally, there were no statistically significant changes in corneal aberrations (P =0.52) and asphericity (P = 0.41) post-surgery.
Considering these findings, the researchers say upper eyelid blepharoplasty may influence biometric and keratometric measurements. CP
References
1. Clin Ophthalmol. 2023:17:3801-3807.
