Repair of Upper Eyelid Retraction

Upper eyelid retraction is the most common sign of Grave’s Eye Disease, an autoimmune disorder involving the thyroid and the eye socket. Eyelid retraction can also happen in the setting of prior trauma or surgery.

Upper eyelid retraction is a challenging surgery. Dr. Walrath usually employs collagen implants when performing upper eyelid retraction surgery. These implants are less than one millimeter thick and dissolve over time, but they do increase the predictability of the surgery.

The young woman below had a documented history of Grave’s Disease. Her only eye abnormality was that the left upper eyelid was retracted. This gives the appearance that one eye is “bulging out”, but in fact that was just an illusion in her case. Her preoperative image is depicted below:

One month after surgery, she enjoyed a significant improvement.