Surgical Management of Corneal Damage in Patients with Primary and Post-Surgical Eyelid Anomalies
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Etiology of Corneal Damage
3.1. Congenital Eyelid Anomalies
3.2. Eyelid Malposition
3.3. Mechanical Eyelid Disorders
3.3.1. Trichiasis
3.3.2. Floppy Eyelid Syndrome
3.4. Iatrogenic Eyelid Pathologies
3.5. Multifactorial and Combined Mechanisms
4. Corneal Surgical Management
4.1. Biologic and Surface-Stabilizing Surgical Techniques
4.2. Surgical Management of Stromal Thinning, Corneal Melt, and Perforation
4.3. Visual Rehabilitation After Surface Stabilization
4.4. Limbal Stem Cell–Based Approaches
4.5. Postoperative Management and Follow-Up
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| FES | Floppy Eyelid Syndrome |
| AMT | Amniotic Membrane Transplantation |
| AS-OCT | Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography |
| PTK | Phototherapeutic Keratectomy |
| CLAU | Conjunctival-limbal Autograft |
| SLET | Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplantation |
| Auto-CLET | Autologous Cultivated Limbal Epithelial Transplantation |
| CLAL | Conjunctival-limbal Allograft |
| KLAL | Keratolimbal Allograft |
| Allo-CLET | Allogenic Cultivated Limbal Epithelial Transplantation |
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| Type of Eyelid Surgery | Postoperative Complication | Underlying Mechanism | Corneal Manifestations | Clinical Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper eyelid blepharoplasty | Lagophthalmos | Overcorrection, excessive skin or muscle resection | Exposure keratopathy, punctate epithelial erosions, persistent epithelial defects | Often transient but may require lubrication, taping, or temporary tarsorrhaphy |
| Upper eyelid blepharoplasty | Suture-related trauma | Suture exposure or extrusion | Recurrent epithelial erosions, corneal abrasion, focal ulceration | Requires early identification and prompt suture removal |
| Upper eyelid blepharoplasty | Thermal injury | Diathermy-induced heat transmission | Epithelial defect, stromal thinning, corneal melt | Early recognition critical; may require multilayer AMT |
| Ptosis surgery | Incomplete eyelid closure | Altered eyelid height or blink dynamics | Exposure keratopathy, tear film instability | Risk increased in patients with pre-existing dry eye disease |
| Ptosis surgery | Altered corneal biomechanics | Changes in eyelid pressure and corneal curvature | Induced astigmatism, visual fluctuation | Often transient; persistent cases may require refractive evaluation |
| Lower eyelid surgery | Postoperative ectropion or retraction | Inadequate horizontal or vertical support | Exposure keratopathy, inferior punctate keratitis | May necessitate revision surgery or spacer grafting |
| Buried-suture double-eyelid surgery | Suture erosion | Foreign body contact with ocular surface | Chronic irritation, epithelial defects, stromal inflammation | Frequently misdiagnosed; requires early intervention |
| Any eyelid surgery | Delayed blink recovery | Edema or orbicularis dysfunction | Tear film instability, superficial keratopathy | Usually self-limiting; supportive therapy recommended |
| Corneal Condition | Clinical Features | Primary Surgical Objective | Preferred Corneal Surgical Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persistent epithelial defect | Non-healing epithelial loss despite lubrication and eyelid correction | Restore epithelial integrity | Single-layer amniotic membrane transplantation (inlay or onlay) |
| Superficial stromal thinning | Stromal loss without descemetocele; stable ocular surface | Prevent progression and support epithelialization | Multilayer amniotic membrane transplantation |
| Progressive stromal thinning | Increasing stromal loss despite AMT or conservative measures | Provide durable tectonic support | Lamellar tectonic graft or corneal patch graft |
| Descemetocele | Near full-thickness stromal loss with intact Descemet membrane | Prevent imminent perforation | Multilayer AMT ± lamellar patch graft |
| Small perforation (<2 mm) | Focal leak with limited tissue loss | Immediate globe sealing | Tissue adhesive (cyanoacrylate) + bandage contact lens |
| Moderate-to-large perforation | Full-thickness defect with significant tissue loss | Restore globe integrity | Therapeutic lamellar or penetrating keratoplasty |
| Extensive stromal melt | Rapid tissue loss with poor surface stability | Globe preservation | Therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty |
| Peripheral non–visual axis disease | Chronic melt or thinning outside the optical zone | Long-term tectonic stability | Conjunctival advancement flap or vascularized tissue coverage |
| Stable corneal scar | Healed surface with visually significant opacity | Visual rehabilitation | PTK, optical lamellar keratoplasty, or optical penetrating keratoplasty |
| Refractory ocular surface failure | Recurrent epithelial breakdown; features of limbal stem cell dysfunction | Restore epithelial maintenance | Limbal stem cell–based reconstruction (selected cases) |
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Aiello, F.; Quaranta Leoni, F.; Mosca, L.; Colabelli Gisoldi, R.A.M.; Maurino, V.; Nucci, C. Surgical Management of Corneal Damage in Patients with Primary and Post-Surgical Eyelid Anomalies. J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15, 3331. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093331
Aiello F, Quaranta Leoni F, Mosca L, Colabelli Gisoldi RAM, Maurino V, Nucci C. Surgical Management of Corneal Damage in Patients with Primary and Post-Surgical Eyelid Anomalies. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2026; 15(9):3331. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093331
Chicago/Turabian StyleAiello, Francesco, Flavia Quaranta Leoni, Luigi Mosca, Rossella Anna Maria Colabelli Gisoldi, Vincenzo Maurino, and Carlo Nucci. 2026. "Surgical Management of Corneal Damage in Patients with Primary and Post-Surgical Eyelid Anomalies" Journal of Clinical Medicine 15, no. 9: 3331. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093331
APA StyleAiello, F., Quaranta Leoni, F., Mosca, L., Colabelli Gisoldi, R. A. M., Maurino, V., & Nucci, C. (2026). Surgical Management of Corneal Damage in Patients with Primary and Post-Surgical Eyelid Anomalies. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 15(9), 3331. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15093331

