What to Do if Sagging Eyelids Block Your Vision
If your eyelids have started to sag and are blocking your vision, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) may be just the thing for you. Learn all about it here.
Eyelid Surgery: A Minor Procedure that Delivers Major Results
The skin that forms your eyelids is some of the thinnest on your body. Therefore, it’s no great surprise that the eyelids show signs of aging, including fine lines and lax, drooping skin, earlier than other parts of the face and body.
Droopy eyelids can make your entire face appear haggard, tired, or even angry, no matter what you’re actually feeling.
At Arizona Ocular & Facial Plastic Surgery, oculofacial plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Dustin Heringer and his team perform blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) for their patients who want to refresh their look or who need to have the upper lids lifted for medical purposes. It’s a relatively minor procedure, but it produces major positive results.
Ptosis at a glance
Eyelid drooping, which can occur with the upper and/or lower lids and is medically known as ptosis, is often related to aging. Your copious supplies of collagen and elastin, two fibrous proteins that give your skin strength and flexibility, diminish around age 25. Environmental factors can also impact the remaining stores, including the sun’s ultraviolet rays and smoking.
The loss of these proteins means your skin can’t maintain its youthful appearance, and fine lines and wrinkles start to appear on the delicate skin. Add the constant pull of gravity to the mix, and the skin on both the upper and lower eyelids inevitably begins to droop. If the upper eyelid skin droops to the point that it hangs over the eyelashes, it gives you a perpetually tired look or, even worse, obstructs your vision.
Losing tone in the lower eyelids can cause the skin to wrinkle and bulge, creating undereye bags.
In addition to the eyelid skin that protects the eyes, fat stores around the eyes cushion the eye where it meets the bones of the skull. The thin membrane that holds this fat in place also loses its youthful tone; the fat moves forward into the lids, causing it to puff up.
If you’ve developed ptosis, a blepharoplasty procedure can reverse it. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons indicates that more than 200,000 people in 2018 chose blepharoplasty to lift their eyelids. That makes it one of the top five cosmetic surgical procedures.
If your upper lids hang so far over your lashes that they interfere with your ability to see, you may need them lifted to improve your sight. In this case, blepharoplasty is performed for medical reasons. The doctor uses a visual field test to determine how much of your peripheral vision is obstructed by the lids, helping him decide if your drooping lids are impacting your ability to see.
The blepharoplasty procedure
Blepharoplasty can be performed on just the upper or lower lids or on both. Dr. Heringer gives you a local anesthetic and some sedation for the upper eyelid. Once you’re comfortable, he makes a small cut inside the eyelid crease so the scar won’t be seen. Next, he removes excess skin, muscle, and fat. He may also reposition some tissues around the eye to enhance its aesthetics.
If you’re also having the lower lid done, the doctor makes the incision along the lower lash line to cover up the scar. He removes the fat that’s created your undereye bags and a small amount of skin. Then, he tightens the underlying muscle tissue and may reposition some of the remaining fat before closing the incision.
Who is a good candidate for blepharoplasty?
If you’re having blepharoplasty done for medical reasons, the primary criterion is that ptosis obscures your peripheral vision. In all cosmetic cases, you’re a good candidate if you don’t like the appearance of drooping eyelids or eye bags.
Other criteria include:
- Lax upper and/or lower eyelid skin
- Persistent bags under the eyes
- Drooping lids
- No major skin or eye conditions
- Realistic expectations for the outcome
- Nonsmoker
It’s also important that you don’t have any serious medical conditions that would prevent you from healing normally. Dr. Heringer will review your entire medical history during your consultation.
If you’re bothered by the appearance of drooping eyelids or if you’ve lost part of your sight because of them, a blepharoplasty is a minor procedure that can deliver major results. To schedule a consultation, call us at either location or book online with us today.
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