To evaluate the clinical indications and efficacy of the lateral tarsal strip procedure.

The medical records of patients who underwent the lateral tarsal strip procedure between September 2008 and February 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. We examined age, gender, diagnosis, procedures simultaneously performed with the lateral tarsal strip, duration of observation, postoperative complications and cases requiring revision surgery. Patients without recurrence or undercorrection of eyelid/lateral canthal area lesions, surgical complication and not requiring revision surgery until final visit were considered as successful cases.

One hundred eighty-three eyes of 129 patients were included in this study. The mean patient age was 61.6 years and average follow-up duration was 9.2 months. Diagnoses of eyes were lower lid laxity (39.9%), involutional entropion (24.0%), lower lid retraction (14.8%), cicatricial ectropion (6.6%), lateral canthal deformity (5.5%), involutional ectropion (3.8%) and paralytic ectropion (2.7%). Surgical procedures simultaneously conducted with lateral tarsal strip in 167 eyes of 183 eyes were endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (30.5%), lower retractor tightening (19.2%), medial spindle procedure (13.8%), mid-lamellar lengthening (12.6%), lower blepharoplasty (10.8%), Quickert suture (4.2%) and Hotz's operation (3.0%). Successful results were obtained in 116 of 129 patients (89.9%).

The lateral tarsal strip procedure can successfully correct lower lid laxity and be used in various clinical indications with or without other surgical procedures.