Eyelid surgery, also called blepharoplasty is a surgical cosmetic procedure that people often call eye lift surgery. Aimed at reducing the puffiness and folds in upper and lower eyelids, this procedure gives the eye skin a lift by removing excess skin from them. Although categorized as a cosmetic procedure performed for beauty enhancement, blepharoplasty is also an effective way to correct vision in elderly people in whom sagging eyelids is a common cause for poor vision.
But the results of an eye lift procedure it not limited to correction of skin bagginess and obstructed vision. It also eliminates shadows from under the eyes making the face appear brighter and younger. It also reduces crow’s feet from the sides of the eyes as well as wrinkles from the eye adjacent parts of the face.
Together with laser resurfacing or injectables, this eyelid procedure can bring about a lot of improvement in the facial skin.
What Can Blepharoplasty Treat?
There is so much that can be achieved through a simple blepharoplasty procedure. The results may vary from one person to the next, but the general scope of the procedure is pretty expansive.
First off, it can eliminate loose and baggy skin from the eyelids and make the natural contours of the eyelids appear sharper and defined. Sometimes, it can help improve vision by removing the wrinkles that tend to impair vision. Through this procedure, fatty deposits that cause under eye puffiness can be removed completely.
Eye bags are reduced through a surgical procedure. Droopy eyelids are treated through blepharoplasty to reveal the white parts of the eyes. It is also a procedure that surgeons perform to clear our fine wrinkles and excess skin from under the eyes.
How It’s Performed?
It takes about a couple of hours to perform an eye lift surgery on the eyelids of both the eyes. In most cases, subjects are locally anesthetized before the procedure through oral sedation or injection. In clinics and hospitals, IV sedation is a preferred way of administering anesthesia.
For a double eyelid surgery, the surgeon starts working on the top eyelids first. The eyelids are cut along the lines and going through the opening, the skin is separated from the tissues. In this way the fat and skin that are causing the folds are removed and the openings are stitched back.
For the lower eyelids, stitches are normally not required as the techniques are different. In some techniques an invisible cut is made to extract out the extra fat. In others, a cut is made along the eyelashes to pull out the excess fat, skin and muscles. In both the cases, a follow up laser procedure is recommended to soften the cut lines.
Who Needs Blepharoplasty?
Blepharoplasty can be performed on anybody 35 years of age or older. People in good health are considered the ideal candidates for this procedure. Aside from that, it also behooves a subject to have realistic expectations when undergoing this procedure.
As for who needs this surgery, it’s people with visibly baggy or droopy eyelids. If this is a facial feature that runs in the family, you may want to get a blepharoplasty procedure done sooner or later.
People who feel an unmistakable lack of confidence on account of the appearance of their eyes can go for an eye lift surgery for a quick correction.
While good health is a precondition for quick recovery, surgeons are also partial to non-smoker subjects for the same reason.
Generally, people with serious eye conditions are ideal candidates of this procedure.
When Do You Need It?
Apart from knowing what specific concerns you require an upper or lower eyelid plastic surgery procedure for, you also need to understand the ideal time at which you need the surgery.
The skin of our body ages with the rest of the body parts. The key symptom of skin aging is loss of elasticity. Low skin elasticity makes the effects of gravity on it even worse. Soon the skin starts to sag. This excess skin forms bulges and folds that hang over the eyelashes. The skin gathers on and around the eyelids weighing them down gradually obstructing vision. When that happens, it’s time to get the bags under the eyes removed surgically.
Permanence of the Results
A question subjects commonly ask before deciding to undergo the eyelid surgery is if the results are permanent. The permanence of the results depends on the condition of the eye bags. Normally, a lower eyelid surgery has more permanent results than an upper eyelid surgery. The results of the former hold through life while the latter easily last five to seven years.Lower eyelid procedures rarely need repeating. However, eyes don’t stop aging regardless of the procedure. So, your eye will continue to age even after the procedure, but bags are not likely to pop up like before.
Should you see your eyelids continue to droop, a forehead lift would be a preferred solution for the next time. Upper eyelid surgery revision is also done in select cases.
In conjunction with other facial cosmetic procedures, a double eyelid surgery can improve the overall skin of your face. But please be advised that blepharoplasty will not alter the structure of your face that you were born with. Nor will it deliver pluperfect results if the droopiness of your eyelids is beyond correction. So, it’s best to go with a realistically set goals and a positive mindset. Talk them out with the surgeons beforehand so that there are no surprises in the end.
If you are bothered by heavy eyelids caused by excessive skin and fat on them, by all means get a blepharoplasty done and you will be set for the next decade. Get in touch with a good clinic in your locality in Sydney to get your case assessed by the specialist before going for it. The procedure has a certain preparation and recovery phase both of which can be shortened by following all instructions specifically.
Dr. Parag Mahadik is a top-notch surgeon with more than 15 years of experience in the field of plastic and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Mahadik uses SMAS-ectomy, one of the most modern technologies, to get you a firmer and radiant skin texture.
