The patient is a 74 year old woman who noted that she looked old about her eyes and had some difficulty seeing when she was looking at objects in the upper field of her vision. She wanted to have eyelid surgery to treat these issues.
Eyelid Surgery Photos
As can be seen from her before and after photographs, the patient had excess skin and fat of the upper eyelids and puffiness of the lower eyelids. The patient had good lid health, in terms of good lid support, especially for her age, good tear production and eye closure.
Types of Eyelid Surgery
There are different options available to bring youth to both the upper and lower eyelids. With regard to the upper lid, patients may opt for upper eyelid surgery, where the skin is cosmetically removed along with some fat to achieve a smooth result. The scar that results from this surgery (blepharoplasty scars) is almost always very difficult to see because the skin of the lid is very thin. In addition, the scar is hidden within the palpebral fold, which is the fold that the skin is falling over.
When patients have skin excess of the upper eyelid, brow lifting is also an option. Patients who may benefit from a brow lift might feel that their brow is low. Other patients may not have noticed their brow is low but a facial plastic surgeon evaluating the patient may show that the brow is contributing more to the upper lid drooping than the excess skin itself. In either or both of these situations, a brow lift can help patients treat the upper eyelid skin excess. Brow lifts not only treat skin excess of the upper lid but also totally rejuvenate the forehead, area about the eyes and the crow’s foot areas. In fact, brow lifts can even lift the cheek, especially when they are performed in conjunction with a face lift.
For patients considering a brow lift, it is important to look at brow lift before and after photos to see if they like the changes afforded by surgery. Both upper eyelid surgery (upper blepharoplasty) and brow lift surgery can be very rewarding but it is important to remember that patients are not all alike and may have different goals for treatment.
This patient’s brows were in good position and so upper eyelid surgery was performed. As can be seen from her blepharoplasty before and after photos, significant improvement has been made with just skin removal and the patient is easily able to close her eyes and doesn’t have any dryness after her procedure.
Lower blepharoplasty (Lower Eyelid Surgery)
There are several alternatives for treatment of the lower eyelids and some patients are better candidates for the different types of surgery. During external lower eyelid surgery, an incision is made outside the lower eyelid just beneath the lashes and the skin is moved downwards. Fat pads can be easily seen and removed. Excess skin is removed and the skin is repaired. This is a good alternative for some patients and the scar is imperceptible because it is hidden under the eyelashes.
In some patients, Lower Eyelid Skin Pinch technique can be used to remove the excess lower eyelid skin. In this type of surgery, the amount of skin that is going to be removed is pinched with tweezers to determine the amount of skin while the patient is being marked for surgery.
Another technique to treat fat excess of the lower eyelid is to approach the fat pockets from inside the eyelid. In this wonderful technique, the lower lid is inverted and the fat is removed from inside the lid. What is great about this approach is that it preserves structural and muscle support of the lower eyelid necessary for maintenance of good lid position and lid health. With this technique, any amount of fat can be removed but blepharoplasty recovery is similar to the external approach.
In another variation of lower eyelid surgery, the fat taken from the lower lid can be advanced into the junction between the lid and the cheek to better blend and soften this landmark. Patients who are good candidates for this alternative have significant fat within the lower lids.
Eyelid Surgery Cost
One of the great things about all the different types of eyelid surgery is that these procedures can be performed under local anesthesia or with mild sedation. It is for that reason that the cost for eyelid surgery is low and can fit into almost everyone’s budget.
