History of Canthoplasty

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Plastic surgery is a relatively new area of medicine that has rapidly grown since the start of the 20th century. The world wars in this period accelerated the need for cosmetic surgery and allowed surgeries such as Canthoplasty to be developed. Although the field of cosmetic surgery is now fully developed and recognized, it was found that plastic surgery in general was carried out many centuries ago. However, due to the lack of understanding and the lack of anesthetics, the cosmetic industry did not become successful until after the world wars in the 1900’s.

The first descriptions of this surgery are from the time of 1911. Two surgeons Lexer and Eden describe the procedure of suspending the lower eyelid to create a healthier appearance. Over the years, there have been a number of different adaptations to the procedure used, some of the most notable being from surgeons such as Tenzel, Whitaker and Anderson and Gordy. Through these changes the modern day Canthoplasty has arisen which is a relatively simple procedure with minimum pain involved. The surgery was originally used to treat eyelids that were mis-positioned but it has expanded into many different adaptations, most of which are now for aesthetic reasons.

The name of Canthoplasty has also changed over the century. There have been many names for it including tarsal strip procedure, tarsal suspension and lateral canthal sling. The name has also been mixed with Canthopexy and the two terms used to be used interchangeably but now it is understood that Canthoplasty and Canthopexy are two different procedures on the same area. Today, the surgery is mainly known as a Canthoplasty or a lateral Canthoplasty although some other names are sometimes used. Therefore, make sure you know exactly what surgery you are choosing before you opt for cosmetic surgery.

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