Background: Infrabrow blepharoplasty has become a common surgical method used to rejuvenate aged upper eyelids in Asians. In this paper, we describe the parallel excision method for infrabrow blepharoplasty as a useful alternative to the conventional elliptical excision method. The authors’ experience over a 3-year period is presented and reviewed. Methods: A retrospective review of parallel excision infrabrow blepharoplasty cases at our hospital between 2014 and 2017 was performed. Three oculoplastic surgeons compared preoperative and postoperative photographs using the Strasser grading system. Results: From the medical records of 123 patients, a total of 93 patients with moderate-to-severe bilateral dermatochalasis were selected as subjects. The exclusion criterion was levator function less than 8 mm. The total mean follow-up period was 2 years (range, 0.5–3.5 years). The mean skin excision height and width were 9.75 mm (range, 5–16 mm) and 58.51 mm (range, 42–75 mm), respectively. All patients who underwent surgery recovered without major complications, and all patients had high levels of satisfaction and improvements in their visual field. In the Strasser evaluation performed by the oculoplastic surgeons, most patients were found to have excellent results. Conclusions The parallel excision method for infrabrow blepharoplasty is a safe and effective technique that yields more natural- and youthful-looking eyelids than the conventional elliptical excision method. In our method, more effective manipulation of the orbicularis oculi muscle led to a reduction in frontalis compensation, resolution of sunken eyelids, and correction of lateral hooding.

Surfactant replacement therapy in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) has been introduced in our country since May 1990. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect and short-term outcome of surfactant replacement for neonatal RDS using collective data of uncontrolled trials from different hospitals in Korea. For the period May 1990 to Dec. 1991, a total of 68 RDS neonates were treated with a reconstituted bovine surfactant (Surfactant-TA) at 17 hospitals. Data on 60 neonates were collected from 16 hospitals and were analyzed in this study. In order to examine the factors that might influence the mortality, we performed a stepwise discriminant analysis. RDS was diagnosed according to accepted clinical and radiographic criteria at each hospital. The mean gestational age of 60 neonates was 31+/-3 weeks (1 SD, range, 24~40 wk) and the mean birth weight was 1549+/-566 grams (range, 590~3300 gm). Surfactant treatment resulted in a significant improvement in ventilatory requirement during the subsequent clinical course. However, there were large variations in the instillation procedure (single vs repeated instillations), dose of surfactant, and respirator settings after surfactant treatment. The neonatal mortality was 40% in this group. When the effect of surfactant treatment was compared between survival and death group, the magnitude of improvement was significantly less in death group than that in survival group. Factors affecting the neonatal mortality include a poor response to surfactant, sepsis and/or DIC, decreasing gestational age and weight, acidosis before treatment and air-leaks. We conclude that treatment with Surfactant-TA has an impact on the clinical course of RDS. To optimize the effects of surfactant therapy, the following refinement will be needed: better initial stabilization with respect to blood pressure, blood gases and pH, instillation techniquse including pre-and post-surfactant ventilation, weaning guidelines, dose, dose schedule, as well as timing of treatment, management of infection, and prevention of severe birth asphyxia.
Acidosis ; Appointments and Schedules ; Asphyxia ; Birth Weight ; Blood Pressure ; Dacarbazine ; Gases ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn* ; Korea ; Mortality ; Parturition ; Sepsis ; Ventilation ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Weaning