​Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)

Blepharoplasty, eye tucks, or eye jobs have been one of the most requested and satisfying cosmetic procedures for decades.

The best opportunity to improve someone's appearance is often where aging starts. Baggy, tired eyes and dark circles start talking before we do. If you are blessed with prominent cheekbones, especially where they join with the nose, you probably never thought about lower eyelid problems. The bone holds the skin up nicely and issues of protruding fat pads and baggy skin are all hidden by this internationally desirable trait.

For the rest of us, age will thin the fat and bone in predictable areas of the face. We lose the “youth-full-ness” of the midface prompting it to fall towards the mouth and jowl. This leaves a hollow under the eye called the tear trough. When a fat pad or bag exists under the eye, it is dramatically worsened by the tear trough valley under it. The result is a shadow creating dark circles under the eye.

Still today, many surgeons simply remove fat pads. This results in even more loose skin around the eye. Today, many of the best cosmetic eyelid surgeons save and transpose that precious volume of fat into the tear trough. The fullness supports the skin and reflects the light. Less skin is removed, reducing complications. The objective is to look at the lower eyelid as a part of the cheek, not a flat tire.

Every leading lady has an oval cheek with an apex. Light bounces off the face showing union between the eye, cheek, jowl, or chin. Modern fillers and the arrangement of your own tissue offer amazing, natural, and attractive improvements.

Blepharoplasty, or the resculpturing of eyelids, can correct excessive wrinkling, drooping, or puffiness of the eyes seen in older patients. This occurs due to redundant skin, stretched muscles, and excessive fat of the upper and lower eyelids. Redundant upper eyelids can even obstruct vision. In lower eyelids, excess skin and bulging fatty tissue may add to puffiness and swelling which gives the baggy appearance of a tired look.

About the Surgery

Surgical correction of upper eyelid skin and fat is done in our office or at a surgery center. Excessive skin and fat are removed and sculptured, providing a more crisp, youthful eyelid crease. The fine scar present after healing is hidden in the natural eyelid crease when the eye is open and only minimally visible when the eye is closed.

Dramatic advancements involve preserving and transposing the orbital fat into the deepening hallows of the tear trough of the lower eyelid. This technique means less of a hollow-eyed result and less skin is removed. Newer uses of fillers under the eye and over the cheekbone may allow the patient to even postpone or further enhance surgical techniques.

Recovery Time

The surgery takes between 1 to 1-1/2 hours and offers little to no pain afterward. Decreased bruising has been the result of these newer techniques, the patient may return to normal activities after a few days. If bruises occur, seven to ten days are necessary before a cosmetic return to social circles. Makeup dramatically reduces this downtime. Eyelid surgery can also be combine with fractional CO2 or Erbium laser to improve skin texture or wrinkles.