Evaluation of the use of 2.0 silk sutures in tarso-frontalis sling surgery for severe ptosis

Abstract

Aim
Ptosis refers to an abnormal drooping of eyelid.It could be congenital or acquired.The severity of ptosis is determined by the levator function.This also informs the surgical technique employed in its correction.Severe ptosis caused by poor levator function of less than 4mm is corrected by frontalis sling.The sling material could be autogenous,allogenic or synthetic.Autogenous facia lata is preferred but it may be difficult to harvest,may not be sufficient in children less than three years and may lead to donor site infection.This necessitates the use of synthetic materials.Herein we report the use of readily available 2.0 silk sutures for frontalis suspension

Case Series
We report a series of three cases of severe ptosis who had frontalis suspension using 2.0 silk. Two of these cases were acquired cases while one was congenital. The cases were all severe .The acquired cases were due to trauma. The congenital was associated with chin lift. All the cases had good correction following surgical intervention using 2.0 silk sutures.

Conclusion
The use of readily available and affordable 2.0 silk for frontalis sling offers a good alternative to the expensive ethibond suture and silicon rod sling. It also obviates the attendant short comings of fascia lata.