Introduction: The medial canthus is an important structure to maintain the shape of the eye and assist in drainage of the lacrimal sac. Traumatic telecanthus is a difficult deformity to treat which involves both esthetic and functional aspects. Transnasal wiring remains the gold standard for repair of the medial canthal tendon (MCT) avulsion; however, it is often complicated by canthal drift, extrusion of wires, and in-fracture of the contralateral orbital bones from pressure by tied wires. In order to overcome traditional transnasal wiring technique pitfalls, this study proposes a transnasal wiring fixation method supported with a bone graft to treat patients presenting with telecanthus following complex nasoorbitoethmoid fractures.
Patients and methods: From December 2018 to October 2020, 12 patients with traumatic telecanthus underwent transnasal wiring fixation of the MCT supported with bone graft. The wire holding the MCT was delivered through a single hole to the contralateral side and secured to a small bone graft by passing the wire through 2 holes in the graft in a button-like fashion. Then the wire end is pulled again to the affected side through the same hole and the 2 wires ends are tightly twisted after setting the MCT posterior to the lacrimal crest.
Results: Restoration of the MCT to its normal position was achieved in all patients. There were no observed major complications. Only 2 cases of wound infection and 1 case of dacrocystitis were encountered, which settled with conservative management. The preoperative palpebral fissure width (mean: 28.33mm ± 2.188mm) was significantly lower than the postoperative palpebral fissure width (mean: 34.17mm ± 1.03mm) ( P< 0.05).
Conclusions: This study introduces a modified technique of transnasal wiring fixation to restore palpebral shape and intercanthal distance. The proposed technique could eliminate most of the frequently observed complications of the traditional methods.
Copyright © 2022 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.