What is the levator palpebrae superioris muscle?

The rise of the beauty industry in recent years has awakened the love of beauty among many female friends. However, there are also steady women who will not follow the trend and will generally do research carefully before making a decision. Many women who want to have double eyelids have heard about the upper face lifting muscle. The upper face lifting muscle is the muscle we often talk about for double eyelids, but the double eyelids are caused by a shallow groove in the upper face, followed by the appearance of double eyelids.

Upper face lift

1. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle originates from the tendon ring around the optic foramen, spreads out in a fan shape along the superior orbital wall to the orbital rim, one part ends in front of the tarsal plate, and the other part passes through the orbicularis oculi muscle and ends under the skin of the upper eyelid. It is innervated by the oculomotor nerve and is responsible for lifting the upper eyelid.

2. Double eyelids refer to a shallow groove of skin above the eyelid margin on the upper eyelid. When the eyes are opened, the skin below the groove moves upward, while the skin above the groove relaxes and hangs down at the double eyelid groove. To form a pair of beautiful double eyelids, you must consider factors such as the shape and width of the double eyelids, the swelling of the upper eyelid, the width of the palpebral fissure, the curvature of the eyelid margin, the ratio between the height and width of the eyes, and the distance between the eyebrows and eyes.

Clinical significance

The levator palpebrae superioris muscle is the most important anatomical structure in ptosis correction surgery. When performing levator palpebrae superioris muscle resection and shortening, the orbicularis oculi muscle should be incised first to expose the orbital septum and separate it from the levator palpebrae superioris aponeurosis. The orbital septum and orbital fat should be pushed posteriorly and superiorly to fully expose the aponeurosis. After confirming that the levator palpebrae superioris muscle is correct, the levator palpebrae superioris muscle flap can be separated.

When shortening, the height of shortening or folding of the levator palpebrae superioris muscle should be determined based on the muscle strength and the height of the eyelid margin lifting. For mild ptosis, we generally use levator fold.

For moderate ptosis, levator palpebrae superioris muscle shortening is used. When performing levator palpebrae superioris muscle folding, be careful not to over-suture the levator palpebrae superioris muscle. Damage to the levator palpebrae superioris muscle may lead to iatrogenic muscle strength loss, affecting its function or range of motion. Ultimately, ptosis may not only fail to improve but may worsen. When shortening the levator palpebrae superioris muscle, the suture should be more secure to avoid the sutures becoming loose and causing recurrence of ptosis.