The use of thymoxamine in eyelid retraction

Results of Müllerotomy and levator aponeurosis transposition for the correction of upper eyelid retraction in Graves disease

BACKGROUND

Upper eyelid retraction in Graves disease may cause functional morbidity and aesthetic deformity. Surgery to correct thyroid-related upper eyelid retraction may result in temporal undercorrection with failure to eliminate lateral eyelid retraction, leading in turn to a poor eyelid contour postoperatively.

METHODS

In 1984, one of the authors developed a new procedure for correcting moderate to severe upper eyelid retraction associated with Graves disease. The surgical technique consists of a Müllerotomy and recession of the levator aponeurosis combined with medial transposition of the lateral horn of the levator aponeurosis. The procedure was performed on 37 patients (72 eyelids). Müller's muscle was used as the spacer to set the eyelid height. Transposition of the levator aponeurosis allowed adjustment of eyelid contour.

RESULTS

Thirty patients (58 eyelids) had excellent results, six (13 eyelids) had good results, and one (1 eyelid) had a poor result. No patient required re-operation for asymmetry, unacceptable contour, or malposition. Only one eyelid had significant overcorrection, and only one eyelid had significant undercorrection, requiring further surgery. The most frequent unwanted effects were high eyelid crease (24 eyelids) and residual temporal flare (6 eyelids); however, most of these were seen early in the series before the lateral levator transposition modification was added.

CONCLUSION

This procedure allows successful and simultaneous correction of both eyelid position and contour in patients with moderate to severe thyroid-related upper eyelid retraction.

Thymoxamine: a miotic for intraocular use

Thymoxamine hydrochloride can be used intraocularly to reverse phenylephrine or epinephrine mydriasis during intraocular surgery (0.2-0.5 ml of 0.01% or 0.02% solutions proved to be effective). No endothelial damage was found up to a dose of 1 ml of 0.02% thymoxamine in animal experiments using a physiologically buffered solution. Since stability is low in the buffered state, the final concentration has to be prepared at the time of surgery using a 0.5% solution and a phosphate buffer. Intracameral thymoxamine is a potent miotic during operations and can be helpful in extracapsular cataract surgery, keratoplasty, and repair of perforating injuries.

The surgical management of thyroid-related upper eyelid retraction

Excision of Müller's muscle can usually correct thyroid-related upper eyelid retraction. A transcutaneous approach to Müller's muscle was used in 22 eyelids. The findings at surgery included diffuse eyelid scarring, disinsertion of the levator aponeurosis, fat herniation, and changes resembling dermatochalasis. Identification and correction of these factors, complemented anterior resection of Müller's muscle and influenced final eyelid position and cosmesis.

The use of sclera in the treatment of dysthyroid eyelid retraction

The use of sclera for correcting dysthyroid lid retraction is described. Forty-three procedures on 14 patients are reviewed. Of these 43 procedures, 18 were for upper eyelid retraction, and 25 were for lower eyelid retraction. A tapered graft, larger temporally, was used for the upper eyelid. An eliptical graft of uniform vertical height was used for lower eyelid. Moderately predictable results were obtained; 66% of patients were corrected to within 1 mm of desired positions after the first operative procedure. Only 13% of patients required additional surgery. When secondary procedures were required, the eyelids were corrected to the desired location. Complications were minimal. Sclera proved to be an excellent graft material for dysthyroid eyelid retraction.

Graves' ophthalmopathy. A clinical and immunologic review

Graves' thyroid disease and the orbitopathy which often accompanies it have puzzled physicians and scientists for more than 150 years. Although certain histopathological features have been documented, it is not known what mechanisms are responsible for the systemic and/or ocular disorders. The ocular condition characteristic of Graves' disease may exist in the absence of clinical or biochemical evidence of thyroid dysfunction, and when the systemic and ocular condition exist together, they may follow completely different clinical courses. Because the relationship between the thyroid disorder and the orbitopathy is not established, the authors refer not to "thyroid ophthalmopathy," but to "Graves' ophthalmopathy." In this review, histopathological features of Graves' ophthalmopathy are reviewed. The differential diagnosis of the ophthalmopathy and approaches to its evaluation are discussed, notably the T-4 radioimmunoassay, T-3 resin uptake and TSH tests, as well as CT scanning and ultrasonography. The characteristics of Classes 0-6 ophthalmopathy are outlined and the management of cases in each class is considered. The possible immunological basis for Graves' ophthalmopathy is also reviewed.

The aponeurotic approach to eyelid retraction

A technique for the upper lid retraction that involves an anterior approach similar to aponeurotic ptosis surgery is presented. Instead of advancing the aponeurosis, it is recessed and Müller's muscle is completely extirpated. The lateral horn of the levator must be cut to relieve the marked temporal elevation of the eyelid. Lid height and contour are adjusted intraoperatively with patient cooperation. In the lower lid, the retractors are recessed via a conjunctival approach unless simultaneously performed with orbital decompression. Any amount of lid retraction may be corrected by this technique in the upper lid and up to 3 mm of lower lid retraction can be corrected. Lid height in both the upper and lower lid is lasting and predictable. Thirty-one patients (63 eyelids) have been operated on using this technique with good results. Results in 17 patients (35 eyelids) with follow-up ranging from 8 to 42 months are presented.

Thymoxamine hydrochloride: an alpha-adrenergic blocker

Thymoxamine is an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent which works by competitive antagonism of norepinephrine. It is the only alpha-adrenergic blocker available which has tolerable side effects when used as an ophthalmic solution. When used as a 0.5% solution it consistently produces miosis without affecting the intraocular pressure or the ciliary muscle-controlled facility of outflow. The only regularly reported side-effects at this concentration are transient burning and conjunctival hyperemia. Potential applications of thymoxamine include reversal of phenylephrine mydriasis, treatment of angle-closure glaucoma, treatment of persistent mydriasis after penetrating keratoplasty for keratoconus, reversal of lid retraction in thyroid ophthalmopathy, testing to differentiate angle-closure glaucoma from open-angle glaucoma with narrow angles, aiding in repositioning and maintaining the position of intraocular lenses, treatment of pigmentary glaucoma. Thymoxamine may also contribute to a better understanding of the adrenergic nervous system on aqueous dynamics.