Tarsal buckling as a complication of surgery to treat congenital ptosis

ABSTRACT This paper aimed to report a case of tarsal buckling associated with conjunctival prolapse and upper eyelid inversion as a complication of surgical correction of residual ptosis. A 15-year-old female patient with unilateral residual eyelid ptosis in the right eye, secondary to partial correction of congenital blepharoptosis operated in childhood. The second surgery was performed with resection of the upper eyelid levator muscle aponeurosis, which progressed to conjunctival inversion of the upper eyelid. The structural fragility of the tarsus is the main hypothesis to justify tarsal buckling after surgery. There was complete resolution of tarsal buckling, but persistence of blepharoptosis. Tarsal buckling is an infrequent surgical complication that can occur in correction of blepharoptosis, when there is posterior rotation of the upper half of the tarsus, causing it to curve vertically on its axis and favoring conjunctival prolapse. Establishing diagnosis and early reoperation favor resolution of the condition and avoid possible visual complications.