Microscopic Characteristics of Lower Eyelid Retractors in Koreans

PURPOSE: To identify the microscopic characteristics of lower eyelid retractors in Korean individuals and to elucidate age-related changes in lower eyelid retractors. METHODS: Eighteen Korean lower eyelids from formalin-fixed cadavers were stained with Masson's trichrome. Specimens were divided into two groups based on age at death (group A, ≤65 years; group B, >65 years), and the microscopic findings were analyzed and compared by light microscopy. RESULTS: The capsulopalpebral fascia (CPF) had distinct junctions and no fusion with orbital septum in 14 eyelids (77.8%). The CPF was fused with the orbital septum in only two eyelids (11.1%). Although not significant, the inferior tarsal muscle was closer to the tarsus in group A (1.24 ± 0.71 mm) than group B (2.14 ± 1.18 mm, p = 0.07), and the tarsal height tended to be longer in group B (4.71 ± 0.55 mm) than group A (4.16 ± 1.01 mm, p = 0.20). Tarsal fatty infiltration was more evident in group B. CONCLUSIONS: The CPF was rarely fused with the orbital septum in our sample of Korean lower eyelids. Although we did not identify any remarkable age-related changes in lower eyelid structures, there was a tendency for the lower retractor to loosen from the tarsus and for increased fatty infiltration in the lower eyelids from elderly individuals.