Pupillary and Anterior Chamber Changes Following Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty.

[PURPOSE] This study investigated the preoperative and postoperative pupillary and anterior chamber (AC) characteristics of patients undergoing upper eyelid blepharoplasty.

[METHODS] This prospective, cross-sectional study examined 32 eyes from 20 dermatochalasis patients. Following a detailed ophthalmological examination, quantitative pupillometry and Scheimpflug corneal topography were used to evaluate the pupil and AC characteristics of eyes on the day of operation and postoperative days 1 and 7. Static and dynamic pupillometry characteristics, including scotopic, mesopic, low photopic, and high photopic pupil diameter (PD), resting diameter, amplitude, latency, duration, and velocity of pupil contraction, and latency, duration, and velocity of pupil dilation, were measured. Additionally, AC volume, depth, and angle parameters were analyzed.

[RESULTS] There were significant differences between scotopic, mesopic, and resting PD and the amplitude of pupil contraction. Pairwise comparisons showed that postoperative day 1 scotopic, mesopic, and resting PD and amplitude of pupil contraction measurements were significantly higher than preoperative measurements (p = 0.008, p < 0.001, p = 0.006, and p = 0.033, respectively). Additionally, scotopic and resting PD were significantly lower on postoperative day 7 compared with postoperative day 1 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.041, respectively). However, there were no significant differences in AC parameters.

[CONCLUSIONS] This study revealed that static and dynamic pupil measurements changed following blepharoplasty, with postoperative increased PD occurring particularly under low-light conditions. Therefore, low-light environments should be avoided following blepharoplasty, and patients with angle-closure risk factors should be closely monitored in the early postoperative period.