Question:
Will an eyelid surgery get rid of crow’s feet?
Answer:
No. Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) is intended to improve the contours of the upper or lower eyelid. In upper eyelid surgery, redundant skin and potentially deeper tissue is removed to relieve the overhanging skin. In the lower eyelid surgery is used to remove eyelid bags and if needed the trough of the lower eyelid is filled in with autologous fat or fillers. Crow’s feet are a result of repetitive muscle contraction and skin aging. Therefore that is the treatment. The muscle activity is treated with Botox or Dysport and the skin is treated with a laser or chemical peel.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
My eyes are constantly puffy and extremely swollen due to extreme allergies. I’d like to get a blepharoplasty procedure to trim away the extra skin from above and below my eyelids. I was curious to know whether this would help prevent my eyes from getting so swollen during an attack.
Answer:
Many people feel that their eyes look the way they do because of allergies and certainly allergies can affect the way our eyes look, however usually there is an underlying anatomic contribution to eyelid appearance. Often a blepharoplasty can help the appearance of the eyes with allergies. Your allergies may still cause your eyes to wax and wain in how good they look, but the baseline look will be much better.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I am a 39-year-old female who has a slightly more relaxed looking (droopy) left eyelid. Would getting a Botox injection near my other eyelid relax that area and thus make my eyes appear more balanced?
Answer:
That is a difficult question to answer without seeing you, but the answer is probably no. A droopy eyelid can be caused by a number of factors, but it can be summarized into three categories, brow ptosis, dermatochalasia, eyelid ptosis. Brow ptosis is when the forehead and brow drop causing the upper eyelid skin to fold and look more redundant and tired. In the case of asymmetry, sometimes the more droopy looking lid is the normal one and the person is really activating the forehead muscle and elevating the other side. This is the only situation that Botox may help. A browlift may also be needed. Upper eyelid dermatochalasia is when there is a redundancy of upper eyelid skin. This is usually corrected with a blepharoplasty. At times a brow lift may also be indicated. Eyelid ptosis is when the actual eyelid margin is too low and covering the upper part of the iris (colored part of the eye) or pupil. This usually needs to be corrected surgically.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’d like to get a lower eyelid lift but would definitely prefer something less invasive over surgery. Is it true that Restylane can be used for a non-surgical lower eyelid lift? How does this work and how long do results last?
Answer:
Restylane can be used to improve the appearance of the lower eyelid in the right patient. Nearly everyone has some degree of a tear trough or orbital groove at the junction of the lower eyelid and cheek and will require filling of this groove to optimize their result. This can be done non-surgically with Restylane or surgically with a blepharoplasty or fat transfer. In some patients they also have a significant bag in the lower eyelid that would benefit surgical reduction. Ideal patients for Restylane are those that have an isolated orbital groove, patients with orbital fat bulging forward also can achieve some benefit from Restylane, but the result will not be as nice. Restylane will last around one year when injected into the lower eyelid.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Lisa,
Yes we do perform asian or double eyelid surgery. The procedure is usually performed in the office under local anesthesia with some oral medications to relax the patient. Some patients prefer to have a deeper level of anesthesia at our surgery center, which can be arranged. 18 is certainly old enough to have the procedure. There is a limit as to how young someone can be, but it is variable based upon individual maturity levels. We would be happy to see you in consultation and discuss this further.
Ed Buckingham
