Lower Eyelid Retractors in Caucasians

1. WengOnn Chan¹
2. Hirohiko Kakizaki²
3. Simon N. Madge¹
4. Raman Malhotra³
5. Dinesh Selva¹

¹South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology and Discipline of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
²Department of Ophthalmology, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan
³Corneoplastic Unit & Eye Bank, Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Trust, East Grinstead, West Sussex, United Kingdom.

Purpose: To examine the microscopic anatomic features of lower eyelid retractors in Caucasians, specifically looking for an anatomic division of the retractors into 2 layers, as is present in the Asian eyelid.

Methods: Sagittal full-thickness sections of cadaveric lower eyelids from seven Caucasian cadavers (13 lower eyelids: 7 right and 6 left) were prepared and stained with Masson's trichrome. The specimens were examined microscopically to discern the configuration of the lower eyelid retractors. Micrographs were obtained with a digital camera system attached to the microscope.

Results: Although 2 specimens were excluded because anatomic details were severely disrupted during slide preparation, all the other samples demonstrated clear double layers of the lower eyelid retractors.

Conclusions: The lower eyelid retractors in Caucasians consist of clear double layers. In this regard, no differences were detected between Caucasian and Asian eyelid anatomic features.