4 Common Misconceptions About Eyelid Surgery

Posted Wednesday, August 18, 2010 to PROCEDURES > Face

By G.D. Castillo, MD

Imagine your grandparents. What do you see? Their white hair? Their wrinkled skin? What about their eyes? While you may clearly identify white hair and wrinkles with age, sagging eyelids and puffy undereye bags also signal to us that a person is either aging, tired, or both.

As a Bloomington cosmetic surgeon, I get a lot of questions about eye rejuvenation, specifically about which procedures treat which symptoms. The following are a few common misconceptions about eyelid surgery and what it can (and cannot) do to rejuvenate your face.

1: Eyelid Surgery Is Only for Older People

While your grandfather's puffy undereye bags might have gotten worse with age, the truth is many younger people can suffer from excess puffiness or drooping skin that hangs over their eyelids. People in their 30s (or even younger) undergo eyelid surgery to remove excess overhanging skin or puffiness.

2: Eyelid Surgery Can Correct Wrinkles and Crow's Feet

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) can correct some of static wrinkles around the eyes; however, the results may be limited in the crow's feet area. Treatments like Botox Cosmetic can temporarily relax the muscles to smooth dynamic wrinkles (like crow's feet). Dermal fillers can help add fullness to the face to treat creases in places such as the tear trough, but these procedures provide only temporary improvement and need to be repeated to maintain results. CO2 laser resurfacing of the eyelids used in conjunction with blepharoplasty typically offers the best results, creating a youthful, open, well-rested, smooth upper and lower eyelid area that is free of dark circles.

3: Eyelid Surgery Can Correct Dark Circles

One must understand that eyelid surgery itself tends to correct dark circles, because the shadows are minimized when the bags underneath the eyes are removed. However, CO2 laser resurfacing can indeed be used to lighten the color of the skin in the lower eyelids when needed.

4: Eyelid Surgery Can Correct Sagging Eyebrows

This is something I see a lot at my Bloomington and Champaign-Urbana plastic surgery practice. Just because you're concerned with your eyes, doesn't mean you need eyelid surgery – a brow lift may be a better way to achieve your goals. A brow lift can correct a drooping, heavy brow that hoods the eyes, as well as improve the appearance of forehead wrinkles. In many cases, my patients choose to combine a brow lift with eyelid surgery for more complete rejuvenation of the upper face.

0 Comments | Share | Save to Favorites

Report Abuse| Rate It: