Tarsorrhaphy lid clamp.

Tarsorrhaphy is finding increasing indications because of the resultant improvement in comeal metabolic activity and also the protective cover given to the cornea. Different techniques' have been described for performing the tarsorrhaphy, but the basic principle remains the same. It is to produce adhesions between the 2 lid margins by creating a raw intermarginal strip on the 2 lids. Tarsorrhaphy is considered to be the best treatment in conditions such as recurrent herpetic keratitis with comeal anaesthesia, lagophthalmos (mild), neuroparalytic keratitis, mild degrees of exophthalmos, and in reconstructive surgery of ocular adenexa and contracted socket. During the standard procedure of paramedian or lateral tarsorrhaphy an assistant is needed to raise the lid margin with the help of 2 hooks and to bring it forward so as to evert the margin. Secondly the raw area of the intermarginal strip oozes freely, and it has to be checked by firm pressure with a swab. A tarsorrhaphy lid clamp (Fig. 1), designed by and available through the author, has many advantages. It makes tarsorrhaphy a simpler procedure which can be accomplished in a much shorter time with better