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Richard R. Tenzel, MD
Miami

William B. Stewart, MD
San Francisco

Arch Ophthalmol. 1978;96(5):911-912.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—A frequent source of confusion in the ophthalmic and plastic surgery literature has been the terminology of various conditions that result in "baggy eyelids." Although the terms blepharochalasis and dermatochalasis (dermochalasis, dermachalasis) are used interchangeably by many, they should be reserved for specific conditions.

Blepharochalasis is an uncommon condition that is characterized by atrophy and relaxation of lid tissues following long-term or recurrent acute attacks of periorbital edema.¹ The condition was first reported in the United States by Weidler in 1913.² He credits McKenzie with the first accurate description in 1854, and Fuchs in 1896 with suggesting the name, which derives from the Greek word for "slackening." When the condition is present, the skin of the upper eyelids becomes lax, thin, characteristically wrinkled (classically described as a "wrinkled tissue paper" appearance), and heavily venuled. Thickened, hypertropied subcutaneous tissue may also be present. Ptosis of the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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