Eyelid Surgery

Patients really focus on their eye features and I truly understand why patients come to me with concern about their eyes. I am very careful, conservative, and exacting with everything I talk about and do in the field of eyelid plastic surgery. Aside from the typical comments of aging others come to me concerned about the shape of the eye and eyelid. The anatomy of the eyelids is understandably complex. There are an extraordinary number of small anatomic features all packed into a little space, a space that all must function perfectly; otherwise, as little as one millimeter of abnormality can become more than obvious. The structures to deal with of the upper and lower eyelids are the very delicate tendons for support, very thin skin, muscle, the fat pockets below the muscle, your eyeball, and the bony eye socket. All of these are very intimately associated with each other, so these many different anatomic features must be carefully analyzed and addressed prior to your surgery. There are very specific techniques for specific eyelid issues, and I will explain and illustrate all of these to you. The surgery is safe and predictable. All of the stitches are small and removed in four to seven days. You can return to work in as little as one to two days and to some physical exercise within the first week. Plastic surgery of and around the eyelid may involve any of the following:

• Blepharoplasty: This is the medical term for removing one or more of these: excess skin, excess fat, or excess muscle. The incision can be below the eyelashes or inside the eyelid.
• Fat Grafting or Fat Repositioning: This is done if you have a deep “tear trough” or groove in the lower eyelid. I can add fat to this area or move some of your natural fat around the area.
• Injectables: Restylane or Perlane can occasionally be used to beautifully fill in the tear trough.
• Eyelid Peels: These are done at the same time to remove wrinkles.
• Canthoplasty: This is to move the tendon at the outer corner. See the separate section on this procedure.

This is an extremely technical procedure, and it takes very special expertise to accurately identify, first, what is the nature of the eyelid features and then, second, what must be done carefully and artistically to correct it. I have this expertise in eyelid surgery, and I have performed hundreds of these operations with very natural results that do not make you look like a different person, but rather, youthful and bright and refreshed. I spend a great deal of time discussing your anatomy, listening to your expectations, and interpreting for you what your anatomy and tissues will safely and predictably allow me to do.

To learn more you can also review an article on periorbital rejuvenation in the Educational Articles section of the website.