Psychosocial implications of blepharoptosis and dermatochalasis.

PURPOSE To investigate, for the first time, the psychosocial implications of blepharoptosis and dermatochalasis. METHODS Two hundred ten individuals rated whole-face photographs of a series of patients on the basis of 11 different personal characteristics: intelligence, throat, friendliness, health, trustworthiness, hard work, mental illness, financial success, attractiveness, alcoholism, and happiness. Preoperative and postoperative photographs of both male and female patients with bilateral blepharoptosis and/or dermatochalasis were used. The paired t test was used to compare preoperative and postoperative ratings on the 11 characteristics. RESULTS The preoperative photographs were rated more negatively than the postoperative photographs (P < .01-P < .001) on all 11 characteristics for both male and female patients by the 210 study subjects. CONCLUSIONS Members of society seem to view individuals with blepharoptosis and dermatochalasis negatively. These psychosocial attitudes may lead to unjust bias toward affected patients, and surgical correction likely provides benefits beyond improved visual function.