Effect of upper eyelid blepharoplasty surgery on headache in patients with dermatochalasis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blepharoplasty surgery on headache symptoms in patients with dermatochalasis. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent oculoplastic surgery between December 2018 and May 2019 were prospectively evaluated. Patiens who underwent blepharoplasty for dermatochalasis constituted blepharoplasty group whereas patients who underwent other oculoplastic surgeries constituted control group. Patients with headache for one year were evaluated by Head Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) before and after 3 months of surgery. Margin reflex distance was measured in all patients with dermatochalasis after blepharoplasty surgery. Results: There were no differences between groups in terms of preoperative HIT-6 scores (p=0.624). Postoperative HIT-6 score of blepharoplasty group was significantly lower than postoperative HIT-6 score of control group. 74.1% of patients with margin reflex distance < 2mm, 62.5% of patients with margin reflex distance 2-3 mm and 22.2% of patients with margin reflex distance >= 4 mm had decrease in their HIT-6 scores following blepharoplasty. There was a negative correlation between change in margin reflex distance and HIT-6 score. Conclusion: Significant improvement was observed in headache symptoms in patients with dermatochalasis following blepharoplasty. Headache could be a functional indication for blepharoplasy in patients with dermatochalasis and short margin reflex distance.