The Aging Eye

The ocular adnexal tissues share the progressive loss of tone and bulk, common to many aging tissues. As a result of these progressive involutional changes lid anatomy is altered inducing senile ptosis, ectropions, entropions, canthal laxity and epitheliomas. A better understanding of these conditions allows more appropriate surgical management. Senile ptosis is an acquired ptosis usually due to dehiscence or disinsertion of the levator aponeurosis (below the orbital septum); surgery aims to reattach it to the tarsal plate via either anterior or posterior approach. Senile ectropions and entropions share several aetiologic factors: horizontal laxity, lid retractors, laxity migration of the preseptal orbicularis for senile entropion; stretching of the canthal tendons, secondary skin retraction and conjunctival thickening for senile ectropion. The entropion requires the association of horizontal lid shortening, lower eyelid retractors shortening, skin blepharoplasty with deep sutures (between preseptal and pretarsal orbicularis). In some cases of senile ectropions, the horizontal shortening of the eyelid by a full-thickness pentagon resection with shortening of the lower eyelid retractors must be associated with a medial canthal tendon plication and skin graft.