DISEASES AND TREATMENTS

Frontalis flap

What is frontalis flap surgery?

Frontalis flap surgery is a technique that we have been developing for over 20 years.

Historically, frontalis suspension has been the treatment for severe ptosis. It involves the use of incisions to connect the eyelid to the forehead muscle through the use of tissue from other parts of the body or artificial materials. We began by trying to avoid the complications that arose from the techniques available at the time. What are called slings, which are methods of indirect connection with sutures, tensor fasciae latae or other tissue or materials, attempting to avoid these kinds of complications, we began to develop that technique, which allows us to do everything through skinfolds.

Unlike all of these techniques, the main characteristic of frontalis flap surgery is that it is minimally invasive, as it requires a single incision in the crease of the eyelid and is practically invisible. In addition, it requires no grafting of the patient’s tissue or the use of external materials. This avoids extra scarring and helps to prevent infection and other adverse reactions that may be caused by the use of these materials.

Process

We started with adults, and we saw very good results. Then, we began to observe the results in children. We were initially concerned that working on this part of the body in small children might affect growth of that area as adults and have other consequences. But that wasn’t the case, and we proceeded very cautiously. When we saw that it was safe, from that moment onward, nearly all our frontalis suspension procedures have been performed through frontalis flap surgery.

Lasting effects

Children with congenital ptosis usually require three or four surgeries during childhood to achieve good results. Among our patients who underwent surgery at less than one year of age and who are now 15 years old, we have seen that a single operation is all that was needed to look absolutely normal. Which is another important advantage of frontalis flap surgery. The technique has long-lasting effects that withstand growth, which reduces the number of operations that the children must endure, and that means less suffering of the patients and their families. They still look absolutely normal, even forgetting they ever had a severe problem, and they’re happy.