Blepharoplasty Guide

About Eyelid Surgery. Improves the appearance of bags under the eyes.

Blepharoplasty (Eyelid surgery) can help improve your appearance--nothing ages a face more than the appearance of bags below the eye or hooding of the upper eyelids. Even when you are fully alert and awake, your look says something else entirely. An eyelid lift will dramatically improve your overall appearance by giving you a more youthful and refreshed look.

Eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty is a procedure to remove fat, usually along with excess skin from the upper and lower eyelids and sometimes tighten muscle in the area. However, it won't remove crow's feet or other wrinkles, eliminate dark circles under your eyes, or lift sagging eyebrows. While it can add an upper eyelid crease to Asian eyes, it will not erase evidence of your ethnic or racial heritage. The procedure can be performed on either the lower or upper eyelids, but many patients prefer to have surgery on both for a more balanced correction.

The best candidates for eyelid surgery are men and women who are physically healthy, and realistic in their expectations. Most are 35 or older, but if droopy, baggy eyelids run in your family, you may decide to have eyelid surgery at a younger age.

There are two types of eyelid surgery:

1. Upper Blepharoplsty

A surgical procedure addressing the appearance of the upper eyelid. The incision is made in the natural crease line that occurs 1 cm above the eyelashes. The incision might extend into the crow's feet or laughter lines at the outer corners of your eyes. Your surgeon will separate the skin from the subcutaneous layers and remove excess fat and trim the sagging muscle and skin. The incisions will be closed with very fine sutures or with surgical glue.

2. Blepharoplasty

A surgical procedure addressing the appearance of the lower eyelid. This incision usually starts at the outer margin of the eyelashes. The skin is then lifted upwards and outwards, gently tensioning the area and the overlapping skin is removed. Again the incisions will be closed with very fine sutures. In older patients, laser resurfacing is recommended on the lower lid to erase fine lines and resurface the delicate area of the lower lid.