Just below the eyes is the first place the majority of us look to when meeting someone, according to research. And, with the eyes one of the first areas of the face that shows premature ageing, preserving and enhancing this delicate facial feature to ensure our eyes are speaking the best versions of ourselves, must be performed with a skilled hand and individual approach. Fortunately, blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery, gifts options for every eye.
Skin around the eyes is sensitive and easily damaged. But not all eye damage – puffy bags or sagging lids – are attributed sleepless nights, allergies and exhaustion. Genetic factors and age can all trigger their development. For those experiencing puffy bags, these can be a result of pockets of fat around the eyes, nose and centre lower lid and lateral all protruding over time and essentially ‘puffing out’.
Sagging of the upper lids, resulting in hooded appearance, often has genetics at play. Certain people may also experience stretching in the levator muscle which lifts the eyes – a condition called senile ptosis – resulting in drooping eyelids.
For the lower lids, a lower blepharoplasty removes and repositions fat and skin beneath the eyes (commonly the inner lower lid to avoid external scarring) reducing puffiness, restoring balance and correcting any asymmetries. Recovery time for a lower bleph is slightly longer than upper bleph as it is typically more invasive with deeper removal of fat and tissue. Most people can expect an approximate timeline of three-to-six months for full healing – with initial swelling subsiding after two-to-three weeks.
For the upper lids, an upper blepharoplasty, removes excess sagging skin covering the lids, excises fatty tissue and any excess muscle, resulting in a gentle lift of the eyes. The recovery period is typically shorter than lower eyelid surgery, with initial healing and bruising typically subsiding within one-to-two weeks.
Blepharoplasty – be it upper eyelid plastic surgery or lower eyelid plastic surgery – is not suited to everyone, of every age. If you are in your 20s or 30s, it won’t necessarily be fatty excess causing hooded eyelids, it’s more commonly going to be an excess skin issue. Therefore, opting for non-invasive appearance medicine treatments to reduce the hooded appearance of the lids maybe a better option that surgery which can create a skeletonised look. When Botox is injected into the crow's feet, the surrounding eye muscles are released which can reduce bagginess, simultaneously dermal filler injected into the temples lifts the eyebrow tail, thus elevating the lid. Soft tissue contracture can also be minimised with skin tightening treatments like Sofwave. Sofwave’s Ultrasound Parallel Beam (SUPERB™) technology permanently boosts collagen and elastin production, tightening the eye area and lifting the brows.
Sometimes it's not the eyes that are causing the ‘eye’ problem, and therefore a plastic surgeon may not recommend a blepharoplasty. In cases where the brows are essentially pushing the eye down, you might be a better candidate for a browlift. If puffiness under the eye is not the issue, rather lack of volume which is resulting in a sunken appearance, a fat transfer might be a suited option to replenish volume and rejuvenate.
Whatever your eye goals and vision, always reach out to a board-certified and trusted cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon.
