Eyelid lift (Blepharoplasty) and Brow lift
Eyelid surgery corrects droopy upper eyelids and puffy bags under the eyes. It will not change the shape of your eyes, it will simply make you look younger, less tired and refreshed. Surgery can involve only the upper eyelids, only the lower eyelids, all four eyelids or the eyelids and the brows. It can be done under local or general anesthesia depending on patient preference and procedure. The surgery takes between 30 and 120 minutes. Full recovery depends on each patient, but bruising usually goes away in less than 3 weeks.
What you should know about Blepharoplasty and Brow Lift
Aging, heredity and sun exposure can all affect the appearance of our eyes. With age, the fat, the muscles and the bones around the eyes loose volume (deflation). The face practically changes from a grape into a raisin. Consequently, the lack of support for the skin leads to down-sliding of the brow and the cheeks and the appearance of having excess skin in the eyelid. Gravity sure works against us here!
Blepharoplasty
The goal of blepharoplasty is to improve the appearance and function of the eyelid, resulting in a more youthful, less tired look. In the past twenty years we have learned that rejuvenation depends primarily on preserving and restoring the volume around the eyes, lost with aging.
Skin is usually removed, muscles are tightened and fat is repositioned through invisible incisions placed either in the eyelid crease or on the inside of the eyelid.
Upper blepharoplasty is performed through an eyelid skin crease incision. The scar will not be noticeable a couple of months after surgery. The excess skin is removed while the muscle and fat are preserved. Occasionally the fat in the inside corner of the upper eyelid is sculpted.
Lower blepharoplasty is usually performed through an incision on the inside of the lower eyelid. The fat is repositioned into the dark hollow circles under the eyes. Rarely, a small amount of fat is removed. A canthopexy and a mid face lift can be done at the same time with lower blepharoplasty. Canthopexy is the horizontal tightening of the lower eyelid. Mid face lift is a cheek lift.
If the brow is droopy, a blepharoplasty will not fix the problem. The brow will droop even more after the surgery, narrowing the space between eyelashes and the brow hairs. In this situation a brow lift is necessary.
