To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of inferior retractor tightening combined with lateral tarsal strip surgery and anterior lamellar resection for simultaneously correcting the 3 main causes of involutional entropion.

In this retrospective study we reviewed 80 patients diagnosed with involutional entropion between April 2004 and February 2014 at the Korea University Guro Hospital and Cheonan Chungmu Hospital. The patients were evaluated for the 3 major causes of involutional entropion and were confirmed to have all components. Lateral canthal tendon laxity test and anterior lamellar redundancy test were performed to grade the involutional entropion patients. The patients received inferior retractor tightening, lateral tarsal strip operation and anterior lamellar resection procedure simultaneously.

Eighty involutional entropion patients were included in the present study. The patients consisted of 35 males and 45 females with an average age of 71.1 ± 9.3 years. In the lateral canthal tendon laxity test, 52 (61.2%) eyes were grade II, 33 (38.8%) eyes were grade III. In the anterior lamellar redundancy test, 17 (20%) eyes were grade I, 57 (67.1%) eyes were grade II and; 11 (12.9%) eyes were grade III. Among the 80 patients, 85 eyelids received combined surgery, 84 had successful outcomes and 1 case recurred at 5 months following the primary surgery with an average follow up of 26.5 ± 4.6 months. Lateral canthal deformity was observed in 2 eyelids which were corrected successfully.

Simultaneous correction of the 3 main causes of involutional entropion through inferior retractor tightening, lateral tarsal strip surgery and anterior lamellar resection procedure is effective in correcting involutional entropion and safe in avoiding overcorrection.