Apart from listening to the cry of a healthy newborn, it is the declaration by the attending paediatrician in the labour room that the child is normal which brings utmost joy to parents. The global incidence of children born with congenital anomalies has been reported to be 3%-6% with more than 90% of these occurring in low- and middle-income group countries. The exact percentages/total numbers of children requiring surgical treatment cannot be estimated for several reasons. These children are operated under several surgical disciplines, viz, paediatric-, plastic reconstructive, neuro-, cardiothoracic-, orthopaedic surgery etc. These conditions may be life-threatening, e.g., trachea-oesophageal fistula, critical pulmonary stenosis, etc. and require immediate surgical intervention. Some, e.g., hydrocephalus, may need intervention as soon as the patient is fit for surgery. Some, e.g., patent ductus arteriosus need 'wait and watch' policy up to a certain age in the hope of spontaneous recovery. Another extremely important category is that of patients where the operative intervention is done based on their age. Almost all the congenital anomalies coming under care of a plastic surgeon are operated as elective surgery (many as multiple stages of correction) at appropriate ages. There are advantages and disadvantages of intervention at different ages. In this article, we present a review of optimal timings, along with reasoning, for surgery of many of the common congenital anomalies which are treated by plastic surgeons. Obstetricians, paediatricians and general practitioners/family physicians, who most often are the first ones to come across such children, must know to guide the parents appropriately and convincingly impress upon the them as to why their child should not be operated immediately and also the consequences of too soon or too late.

Comparing the surgical and refractive outcomes of congenital ptosis repair by different surgical techniques.

This longitudinal cohort study reviewed medical records of 101 patients who underwent congenital ptosis repair, from 2006 to 2022 in a single center. Analysis was performed for demographic background, co-morbidities, pre-operative and post-operative ocular examinations and refraction, complications, reoperations, and success rates.

Following exclusion criteria, we remained with 80 patients (103 eyes) who underwent either frontalis muscle suspension surgery (FMS) (55 eyes) or levator muscle surgery (LM) (48 eyes). Patients in the FMS group were younger (mean age of 3.1 vs. 6.0 years, p < 0.001) and had worse pre-operative ocular assessments including prevalence of visual axis involvement, chin-up head position, ptosis severity, and levator muscle function (LF) (p < 0.001). Both groups had a 25% rate of reoperation, however while in the LM group reoperation was required solely due to undercorrection, in the FMS group various indications prompted reoperation. Success rate was higher in the FMS group (87.3% vs. 60.4%, p = 0.002). While pre-operative astigmatism was higher in the LM group (p = 0.019), no significant differences were observed post-operatively. Spherical and spherical equivalent changes over time were significant only in the FMS group (p = 0.010 and p = 0.004, respectively).

Within our cohort, a higher success rate of congenital ptosis repair was observed among patients who underwent FMS compared to LM, despite similar reoperation rates. In cases of severe ptosis and moderate LF, LM demonstrated a lower-than-anticipated success rate. Astigmatic changes following ptosis repair were not consistent in either group.

To examine the astigmatism characteristics and surgical outcomes in patients with unilateral severe congenital ptosis following frontalis suspension surgery.

We included 53 congenital ptosis patients who underwent frontalis suspension surgery in Hunan Children's Hospital. Each patient underwent a refractive examination before and after surgery to assess astigmatism. We also evaluated the effects and complications associated with the procedure.

Degree of astigmatism in ptotic and fellow eyes was - 1.45 ± 0.59 D and - 0.66 ± 0.51 D before surgery. Ratio of severe astigmatism in ptotic and fellow eyes was 51.3 and 12.8%. The fellow eyes presented with with-the-rule astigmatism (WR; 71.8%) and against-the-rule astigmatism (AR; 20.5%) types, with no cases of oblique astigmatism (OA). Ptotic eyes demonstrated higher frequencies of AR (59.0%) and OA (10.2%) than did fellow eyes. Furthermore, the former showed increased astigmatism, followed by a gradual decrease at the 6-month, before significantly decreasing at the 1-year postoperatively. The ratio of postoperative AR and OA astigmatism cases in ptotic eyes decreased to 35.9 and 7.7% 1 month postoperatively. However, there was a postoperative increase in the WR ratio from 30.8 to 56.4% after 1 month. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a success rate of 81.4% at 6 months and 62.9% at 12 months which was influenced by the following complications: suture reaction, epithelial keratopathy, infection and granuloma, lid lag, and recurrence.

Monocular congenital ptosis could develop severe astigmatism and higher frequency of AR or OA, early surgery may ameliorate astigmatic amblyopia.

Congenital ptosis has varying degrees of impact on the visual development or psychological health of a child depending on its severity. Some controversies and misconceptions remain regarding the management of congenital ptosis in children. Particularly, the accurate diagnosis of the severity of congenital ptosis in younger children, assessment of the visual developmental status of the child, optimal timing of surgery, and treatment choice are still issues in clinical practice that need to be explored. This report presents a comprehensive review of these aspects of the correction of congenital ptosis to provide a valuable reference for clinical practice. Our review shows that currently used surgical procedures for ptosis may result in over- or under-correction to varying degrees. The differences may be due to the physical condition and age of the child and the degree of cooperation during preoperative examination and assessment, resulting in inaccurate results. Alternatively, intraoperative swelling and bleeding may lead to errors in the values recorded by the surgeon. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

To characterize the preferred ptosis practice patterns and variations among oculoplastic surgeons in the Asia-Pacific region.

A web-based questionnaire was sent to both members and non-members registered under the Asia Pacific Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (APSOPRS)'s email database. The survey included preoperative testing practices, surgical preferences for adult aponeurotic and congenital ptosis, various surgical techniques (anterior and posterior approach ptosis procedures, and frontalis sling procedures) and postoperative practices.

A total of 386 survey invitations were sent. There was a response rate of 68.7% from respondents from 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. There was variation in the preoperative evaluation and management of ptosis. Anterior approach ptosis surgery (96.6%) and frontalis sling procedures (86.8%) were performed by more surgeons than posterior approach ptosis surgery (47.2%). There was a deviation from the traditional frontalis sling procedures for patients with poor levator function.

Our survey results provide insight into the variation in the assessment and management of ptosis amongst oculoplastic surgeons in the Asia-Pacific region. It also demonstrates some differences between practice patterns in Asia-Pacific and America.

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of congenital ptosis on the visual function of patients and observe the improvement in visual function after the correction of ptosis at different surgical times.

We performed a retrospective study of 265 patients (346 eyes) with congenital ptosis at the same hospital. Each patient underwent an ophthalmic examination, including optometry and measurement of the affected palpebral fissure height and upper eyelid margin reflex distance. Preoperative clinical and morphologic data were compared with postoperative data.

The refractive error of the patient population was significantly different from that of the general population (P < 0.01). The rates of strabismus and amblyopia were 12.45% and 36.98%, respectively, in the ptosis patients, both of which are higher than the rates in the general population (P < 0.01), especially for unilaterally affected patients and patients with the optical axis covered. The refractive error of patients younger than 5 years was improved postoperatively (P < 0.05). The number of cases of amblyopia and strabismus was reduced, as was the percentage of cases of with-the-rule astigmatism (P < 0.05).

Congenital ptosis can result in refractive error, strabismus, and amblyopia, which could seriously impair the visual function of patients. The impairment is more pronounced in unilaterally affected patients. Surgery is conducive to the recovery of visual function, especially in patients younger than 5 years. Satisfactory curative effects can be obtained before the age of 3 years; thus, unilaterally affected patients, severely affected patients, and patients with impaired visual function should undergo surgery as soon as possible.

Refractive surgery is one of the most popular elective procedures performed in the world. Given that dry eye is a common complaint following keratorefractive surgery, evaluation, and treatment of periocular conditions that further predispose the patient to dry eye symptoms is an important part of the presurgical assessment. Periocular conditions and surgeries can also affect the ocular surface and keratometry, and should be addressed. For example, ptosis, orbital fat herniation, ectropion, and eyelid masses have been shown to induce corneal topography changes and astigmatism. The oculoplastic considerations for refractive surgery include both the contribution of eyelid position on dry eye, ocular surface damage, refractive error, and outcomes, as well as the timing of oculoplastic surgery in relation to the refractive surgery. In this review, the recently published literature on eyelid and orbital surgery in relation to keratorefractive surgery is reviewed to elucidate the relationship of periocular factors with refractive surgery outcomes and complications. To improve keratorefractive surgery outcomes, a literature review is presented, discussing evaluation, management, and timing of management of oculoplastics conditions.

Dry eye syndrome is a well known complication of keratorefractive procedures. This is exacerbated with concurrent eyelid or orbital disorders, such as ectropion, lagophthalmos, and thyroid eye disease. In addition to impacting dry eye and ocular surface damage, eyelid surgeries can also affect corneal topography and refraction. Studies have found that patients with ptosis have topographic corneal aberrations from the eyelid exerting pressure on the cornea, while ptosis repair and blepharoplasty patients may undergo an astigmatic change postoperatively. Finally, the corneal flap created in laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis may be at risk for displacement or damage postoperatively with this risk changing, depending on method of flap creation, and time elapsed since keratorefractive surgery.

Eyelid and orbital conditions that predispose to dry eye syndrome and refractive changes should be evaluated and optimized prior to keratorefractive surgery. Patients electing to have oculoplastic surgery, like ptosis repair, should be fully healed prior to any refractive surgery to allow both refractive changes and eyelid positions to stabilize prior to the refractive surgery.

We studied the difference in the corneal biomechanical parameters of ptotic and fellow eyes in patients with congenital blepharoptosis. The correlations between corneal biomechanical parameters and demographic or ocular parameters, and the changes after surgery were also researched.

The corneal biomechanical parameters were measured by Corvis ST tonometry. The central corneal thickness (CCT), axial length (AL) and keratometry measurements were performed with LenStar LS900, and intraocular pressure (IOP) by non-contact applanation tonometry. The parameters were evaluated for the effect of ptosis and the relationship of corneal biomechanical parameters. These examinations were repeated 6 months after blepharoptosis surgery.

Twenty-nine patients were enroled. The Corvis ST parameters (Deformation amplitude [DA], A1 times, and A1 velocity), CCT, IOP with NCT, IOP with corrected, differed significantly between ptotic and fellow eyes. CCT was significantly positively correlated with Length A1 and IOP with Corvis, and negatively correlated with IOP corrected by Corvis of the ptotic eyes. The same tendency was found in the fellow eyes. Six months after the ptosis surgery, the differences in corneal biomechanics parameters between ptotic eyes and fellow eyes were not significantly changed.

Congenital blepharoptosis causes significant corneal biomechanical changes measured by Corvis ST. The ptotic eyes had thicker and less deformable corneas. The differences in corneal biomechanics between ptotic eyes and fellow eyes were mostly related to CCT changes. Six months after surgery, these differences in corneal biomechanics did not change significantly.