Ptosis surgery in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: comparative study of two surgical techniques

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this study is to report the results of the management of ptosis in our practice by comparing two techniques, one consisting of the resection of the levator of the upper eyelid and the other of the suspension of the upper eyelid to the frontal muscle. Methodology: This is a prospective study of all consecutive ptosis patients in two ophthalmology departments in Bukavu (in Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021. All patients were operated on by the same surgeon with a minimum of 6 months follow-up post-operatively. Results: A total of 55 patients were treated for ptosis during the study period, including 31 with upper eyelid levator resection and 24 with upper eyelid suspension to frontal muscle. We found that male sex, cosmetic gene, congenital ptosis, left location, moderate degree and isolated ptosis were predominant in both groups of patients, but statistical comparison between these two groups was not significant (p>0.05). For post-operative complications, there was a statistically significant difference between the two treatments (p=0.0002). After treatment, the statistical analysis shows that the median value of visual acuity in patients who underwent upper eyelid levator resection was significantly higher than that in patients who underwent upper eyelid suspension to frontal muscle (p=0.021). Conclusion: The results of this study show that resection of the upper eyelid levator seems to be the best surgical technique compared to the suspension to the frontal muscle in our context.