Eyelash status and eye width among ethnic groups in Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: As the country becomes increasingly ethnically and racially diverse, it is important for surgeons with an interest in eyelid anatomy to have an appreciation and understanding of eyelash and eye width variations that exist in order to plan for and execute ethnically congruent procedures. The eyelash and eye width analysis is an important aspect of patient assessment for plastic surgeons to identify variations from the normal anatomy. The aim of this study is to inform on anatomical variations that exist between selected ethnic groups as a guide for describing the status of the eyelash and eye width. Enlightenment on these variations will help instruct on important cultural aesthetics, which can be used to plan for blepharoplasty [A1] in a diverse patient population. Materials and Methods: Morphometry of eyelashes and eye width was conducted on 389 healthy volunteers comprising of 193 males and 196 females with no eyelash abnormalities and no eyelash extension participated in the study. The Yoruba tribe consisted of 274, the Igbo tribe were 78 and the Hausa tribe were 37 volunteers respectively. Result: The result showed that the Hausa tribe had the longest lashes with mean values in millimeters of 7.80±1.03, 9.35±1.13 and 8.29±1.19 followed by the Yoruba tribe with mean values of 7.40±3.14, 8.58±1.16 and 7.67±1.12 and then the Igbo tribe with mean values of 7.24±0.93, 8.65±0.89 and 7.72±0.83 on the medial, middle and lateral regions respectively. Further analysis also revealed that males had longer upper eyelid eyelashes in the three regions compared to females. With respect to age, volunteers between the ages of 0–19 years had longer eyelashes than those that were between the ages 20–39 years. The ratio of their mean eye width compared to the mean upper eyelash length was at least 5:1 or more across the three tribes. Conclusion: Morphometric analysis of the eyelashes and eye width provides baseline anatomic data relevant in the performance of cultural background sensitive procedures.