Epicanthus

Sickle-shaped skin fold at the interior angle of the eyelid.

This skin fold which is mostly genetically determined is a characteristic feature of many peoples from Eastern Asia or Indonesia.

It is also a common characteristic of the following diseases: Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21), Cri-du-chat-syndrome, Zellweger-syndrome, Noonan-syndrome, De-Grouchy-syndrome, Smith-Lemli-Opitz-syndrome, Blepharophimose-Ptosis-Epicanthus-inversus-syndrome (BPES) and other syndromes.

An Epikanthus mostly does not cause any problems. However this fact, sometimes it causes an entropion (inverted lower eyelid) which is characterized by eyelashes rubbing the eye. In contrast to this, an epicanthus can also cause an ectropion (everted lower eyelid) which is often characterized by “dropping tears”.

The surfaces of both eyes are covered at a higher percentage than eyes without epicanthus. This leads, especially if children have it, to the clinical sign of a pseudo-strabismus, though these people do not suffer from a real strabismus.

Epicanthus skin folds can also develop after accidents or surgery, as e. g. erroneous cosmetic surgery. As long as there are no secondary problems, epicanthus skin folds need not to be operated.

If associated complications develop, different surgical techniques are possible.