Evaluation of surgical outcomes for ptosis surgery by face recognition software

Purpose: This study was aimed to use the age estimation segment of face recognition software to determine whether patients appeared younger after surgery for aponeurotic ptosis and dermatochalasis. Design: This is a prospective interventional case series. Methods: Face recognition software was used to estimate the age of 12 Japanese patients who had surgery to repair aponeurotic ptosis or dermatochalasis. Photographs of the faces before and 1 month after the surgery were taken and uploaded to the face recognition software to estimate the age of the subjects. Results: The preoperative estimated age significantly correlated with the actual age (r = 0.647, P = 0.023), and the postoperative estimated age also significantly correlated with the actual age (r = 0.727, P = 0.007). The scores of the palpebral fissure width of the right eyes (P = 0.003) and left eyes (P = 0.002) significantly improved postoperatively. However, the postoperative estimated age was not significantly younger than the preoperative estimated age (P = 0.173). Conclusions: The face recognition software may not be influenced by the lid plastic surgery. Many factors other than the width of the palpebral fissure influence the estimation of age by the face recognition software.