Abstract
Lid function in facial palsy can be restored by the implantation of auricular cartilage. As shown in the diagram, fashioned cartilage is placed and sutured between the tarsal plate and periorbital connective tissue under the eyebrow. Cartilage is kinked by the function of the palpebral levator muscle by opening the eye, while its elasticity works to close the eye when the levator muscle is relaxed. Two patients treated by this method are described: one with traumatic facial palsy who had been treated by facial nerve rerouting and edge-to-edge anastomosis, and one with a facial nerve schwannoma who had been treated with a nerve graft. Our method is better for such cases than classic tarsorrhaphy from the cosmetic point of view, and the surgical procedure and postoperative management are easier than wire spring implants.
