Frontalis suspension for essential blepharospasm unresponsive to botulinum toxin therapy. First results.

We performed frontalis suspension in 12 patients presenting with essential blepharospasm or "apraxia" of eyelid opening who did not respond sufficiently to botulinum toxin injections. An improvement could be observed in 9 patients. During the follow-up period (4-18 months) the effect of surgical intervention remained stable. As opposed to other surgical procedures (excision of the orbicularis muscle, resection of facial nerve branches), frontalis suspension can be considered as a minimally invasive and even reversible treatment.