Nylon Polyfilament Cable Type Suture and Deep-Freezed Allogenic Fascia Lata in Frontalis Sling

It had long been documented that autogenous fascia lata was the most durable suspensory material for frontalis sling, followed by allogenic fascia lata. And nylon polyfilament cable-type suture was regarded as only suitable for temporary purpose when used as a suspensory material. However, it was still used by many ophthalmologists as the preferred material. Thus we retrospectively studied the 94 consecutive eyes of 64 patients who underwent frontalis sling at our department from 1991 to 1993 and found 19 of the 48 eyes (39.6%) that received nylon polyfilament cable type suture sustained recurrent ptosis or unresolved granuloma formation with a mean follow-up time of 17.9 months. Yet only 3 of 46 eyes (6.5%) that received deep-freezed allogenic fascia lata had recurrent ptosis and none in this group had granuloma formation (mean follow-up time: 13.1 months). The difference was statistically significant and we think the use of allogenic fascia lata should be encouraged more than nylon polyfilament cable-type suture.