Abstract

Aim: We aimed to compare the aesthetic results and safety profile of bipolar coagulation of muscle during blepharoplasty with those of blepharoplasty with muscle resection.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent isolated upper eyelid blepharoplasty. The patients were divided into two groups according to the blepharoplasty technique: patients who had muscle resection (Group A) and patients who had muscle contraction with bipolar cautery (Group B). The data were obtained from patient files and photograph archives. The photographs of the patients were evaluated by two independent plastic surgeons. The Visual Analysis Scale/Score (VAS) was used to evaluate the safety profile, And the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAI) was used to evaluate the aesthetic results. The scores were compared between the two groups.

Results: The mean VAS scores of Group A were 5.21 for edema, 4.95 for bruising, 0.91 for scar, 0.67 for fold loss, and 0.86 for asymmetry. Same scores for Group B were 5.43 for edema, 4.83 for bruising, 0.87 for scar, 0.63 for fold loss, and 0.79 for asymmetry. The mean GAI scores were 3.82 at 3 months and 3.76 at 12 months for Group A, and 4.19 at 3 months and 4.12 at 12 months for Group B. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups for VAS (p>0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference for GAI (p<0.05).

Conclusion: We state that in the upper lid blepharoplasty, bipolar cautery coagulation technique could be applied as an alternative to muscle and soft tissue resection.

Keywords: blepharoplasty, bipolar cautery, eye aesthetics, orbicularis oculi muscle, periorbital rejuvenation

Copyright and license

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open-access article published by Bolu İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Kendir MS, Karacor Altuntas Z. Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of bipolar cauterization of the orbicularis oculi muscle for the purpose of reshaping: A retrospective, controlled, clinical study. Northwestern Med J. 2026;6(1):312-20. https://doi.org/10.54307/2026.NWMJ.173

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