Description

Involutional changes of the lower lid may result in ectropion or entropion and can cause patient discomfort, epiphora and keratopathy due to exposure and corneal injury from misdirected lashes. Corrective surgery to restore relatively normal lower lid anatomy and function accounts for a significant proportion of lid operations in most ophthalmic units. A variety of procedures have been described to correct entropion or ectropion. Although procedures including everting sutures, wedge excision, Weiss and Quickerts procedure may be useful in selected patients, the lateral tarsal strip (LTS) procedure, first described by Anderson and Gordy, is perhaps the most versatile and robust of these. It can be combined with everting sutures, medial tarso-conjunctival excision or even retractor plication to correct most cases of entropion or ectropion with excellent results and a low failure rate. Laxity of the lateral canthal tendon is either the primary pathology or plays a significant role in a majority of these cases: this is effectively addressed by the LTS procedure.