Pre-operative experiences and post-operative benefits of ptosis surgery: A qualitative study

Abstract

19This qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of patients who had 20 undergone successful ptosis correction surgery. Participants were recruited from 21Bristol Eye Hospital. Nine participants were interviewed using a semi-structured 22

Patient reported psychosocial functioning following successful ptosis surgery

“…It was anticipated pre-study that successful surgery would have a meaningful positive impact on appearance anxiety, anxiety of perceptions of negative evaluation. Informed by our previous work [ 6 , 7 , 10 , 30 ] we estimated the standardised effect size (Cohen’s d) for pre- post change to conservatively be 0.6 as the population is one of successful surgery. We used the proprietary software PASS (Power and Sample Size) for the power calculation and sample size determination and confirmed using Minitab.…”

“…Individuals with appearance altering eye conditions are viewed by others as less attractive, less likeable and less successful than their peers and/or people without eye conditions [ 8 , 9 ]. Patients who have undergone successful ptosis correction surgery report positive impacts on psychosocial function and well-being in post-operative interviews [ 10 ], and blepharoplasty has been shown to improve patient satisfaction and reduction in psychosocial distress related to appearance concerns [ 11 ]. However, within the NHS there are widespread inconsistencies regarding access to oculoplastic surgeries, with some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) categorising ptosis repair as a ‘cosmetic’ procedure [ 10 ].…”

“…Patients who have undergone successful ptosis correction surgery report positive impacts on psychosocial function and well-being in post-operative interviews [ 10 ], and blepharoplasty has been shown to improve patient satisfaction and reduction in psychosocial distress related to appearance concerns [ 11 ]. However, within the NHS there are widespread inconsistencies regarding access to oculoplastic surgeries, with some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) categorising ptosis repair as a ‘cosmetic’ procedure [ 10 ]. With funding restraints often resulting in many such procedures being deemed non-essential, evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness are required to justify providing patients with these services [ 12 ].…”

“…Where studies of ptosis have measured patient reported outcomes, these tend to focus on changes to vision and related functional quality of life [ 18 , 23 , 24 ]. However, studies focusing on changes to health-related quality of life (HRQL) following ptosis surgery indicate long-term benefits [ 12 , 25 ], and recent qualitative work suggests a clear psychosocial benefit of successful ptosis treatment for some patients [ 10 ]. There is a paucity of studies employing repeated measures before and after corrective surgery.…”

“…The aim of this study was to measure patient benefits in HRQL, social dysfunction and anxiety relating to the impact of the appearance of ptosis following successful ptosis surgery. Validated measures were used to investigate the differences between pre and post intervention scores on constructs explored in previous qualitative and quantitative research [ 5 – 7 , 10 , 12 , 25 ].…”