As you grow older, the tissues around your eyes can sag. This often makes you look older, sad, and tired, and it may restrict your vision. Eyelid surgery, also called blepharoplasty, can tighten the skin around your eyes, making you look younger, happy, and more rested.
The drooping of your skin around your eyes is caused by the fact that the skin is thinner there than on other parts of your body. The muscles around your eyes may also grow weaker, and fat may accumulate under or above your eyes. This is why signs of aging will likely be noticed there first. It can make you look tired even if you’re not, or sad, or possibly even angry.
The Treatment
Eyelid surgery can tighten the sagging skin around your eyes, restoring a more youthful appearance. If you lack confidence or don’t like what you see in the mirror, this surgery can change the way you look. You can also choose between upper or lower eyelid surgeries or get treatment for both.
- Upper Eyelid Treatment
As the skin sags, there will be excess skin around the eyes. Upper eyelid surgery removes the excess skin and tightens it, which will restore that younger and more rested look.
In this procedure, the plastic surgeon will start by making an incision where your eyelid naturally creases above your eye. Working in that cut, the excess skin, fat, and tissue will be removed. Muscles that surround the eyes may also be adjusted.
- Ptosis
One or both eyelids may droop to such a degree that it can cause problems with your vision. Although it often is hardly noticeable, more severe cases can result in the eyelid hanging down below the pupil. People that have this problem have to either tilt their heads back or physically raise their eyelids to be able to see. This problem may be looked at by insurance companies as a medical condition if it interferes with your driving.
Ptosis is often a problem that develops with age, but it may also be congenital. When children have this problem, if not treated, it may result in vision problems. It can also be a problem caused by the muscles that lift your eyelids.
Surgery for this problem involves the tightening of the eyelid muscles. It won’t only give you better vision, but also a better appearance.
- Lower Eyelid Surgery
Having sagging bags under your eyes is something that will make you look constantly tired – like you haven’t had enough sleep. It can even occur when you feel refreshed and had plenty of sleep. These bags under your eyes are caused by a loss of skin elasticity, but fat can also accumulate under your eyes. The overall effect is that it can make you look older than you really are and worn out.
Plastic surgery on your lower eyelids can remove the excess skin and tighten it, which will make you look much younger. In this procedure, the surgeon will make a cut immediately below the lower eyelashes and in the natural crease. A cut could also be made inside your eyelid. During the surgery, the surgeon will remove some of the fat or redistribute it, take out some of the sagging skin, and possibly rearrange or tighten some muscle.
Candidates
It will be necessary to be approved for the surgery before having it done. Candidates need to be in good health, which will be determined by an exam. The surgeon will want to know your medical history. Your eyes will also be examined and tested for vision, and you’ll have several photographs of your eyes made before approval. You’ll also discuss with the surgeon what your expectations are from the surgery.
Some medications may need to be stopped before the procedure, especially those that may cause excessive bleeding. Smoking needs to be stopped several weeks before surgery because it will slow healing. Certain conditions of the eye may prevent you from having this type of surgery.
The Treatment
Usually, eyelid surgery is done on an outpatient basis. You’ll be given anesthesia to help you relax. It may be general or twilight anesthesia, but local anesthesia will also be injected into your eyelids. The procedure usually takes between 45 minutes to two hours.
Combining Procedures
You can have more than one procedure done at the same time. You can also have a facelift or a brow lift while having eyelid surgery. Eyelid surgery doesn’t normally require a hospital stay, but having other procedures conducted at the same time may require it.
Recovery
After the surgery, you’ll need someone to drive you home. Ice packs need to be applied to your eyes for 10 minutes each hour once you get home. It should be done four or five times each day. Avoid all strenuous activities for one week. Bruising and swelling can be expected to last for 10 to 14 days. When you go outdoors, sunglasses should be worn to protect the skin on your eyelids. Also, you’ll need to sleep with your head elevated.
How Long It Lasts
Blepharoplasty is a treatment that will give you a younger look by tightening the skin. As you get older, your skin will continue to lose elasticity. This procedure will be more effective on some people more than others, but you can expect that it will often last from 5 to 10 years. After that, you may want to have the procedure repeated.
There are some things you can do to help ensure that the more youthful effects of your face are retained longer. Wearing sunscreen will help when you’re outdoors, as well as stopping smoking completely – if you smoke.
If you’re tired of the way your eyes droop or your eye bags make you always look tired or old, you can get an eyelid surgery at Lexington PS. You can contact Dr. Theo Gerstle’s office to set up a consultation, and learn more about getting a better appearance and taking years off your face.
