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Phone 512.401.2500 | Fax 512.401.2501
2745 Bee Caves Road, Suite 101
Austin,
Texas
78746
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Question:
I am a fairly young male (34 years old) yet I have hooded eyes. I think they make me look too old. Exactly what would you do during a blepharoplasty to open my eyes up a bit?
Answer:
A blepharoplasty is usually performed in the office under local anesthesia with and/or without some oral sedation. The natural crease of the eyelids are marked out, the redundant skin is tented up and marked out for removal. The redundant skin and at times a small fatty pocket are removed and the incision is closed with sutures. The sutures are removed one week later and the patient can usually return to social activities at that time.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
What type of anesthesia is usually used for blepharoplasty? Can it be performed with local?
Answer:
An upper eyelid blepharoplasty can easily be performed under local anesthetic. Because we utilize an incision inside the lower eyelid, lower eyelid blepharoplasty is more comfortable under IV sedation and local. It is possible however to perform a lower eyelid blepharoplasty under local anesthesia in a motivated patient.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
For lower eyelid surgery, are the incisions always made inside of the eyelid? Is a skin incision ever needed and if so, why?
Answer:
We usually perform lower eyelid incisions on the inside. The reason for this being that making an external incision requires dissecting through the muscle of the lower eyelid which puts the lower eyelid at risk for malposition following the surgery. If a skin excision is required, we usually will perform an incision inside the eyelid to access the fat pads followed by skin removal through an incision on the outside of the eyelid just below the lashes. This allows for excision of skin without violating the muscular layer.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
When I use my fingers to raise the skin on my forehead, it doesn’t seem to do anything for my upper eyelids. It does make my forehead look better. Does this mean that I really need the forehead lift and the eyelid lift together?
Answer:
No. Forehead surgery should be performed on individuals whose brows are low or have a poor configuration, ie. too flat or angled down. If the brow is not heavy or sad in appearance, then an upper eyelid blepharoplasty may be the only procedure needed.
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Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I am a 69-year-old man with obstructed vision due to my drooping eyelids. Would blepharoplasty be a procedure that could correct this problem?
Answer:
There are two common situations in which eyelids block vision. In the first case it is only the upper eyelid skin that is the problem. In the second, the actual eyelid itself is too low blocking the pupil; a condition called ptosis. In the first case a simple blepharoplasty will correct the obstruction. In the second case a procedure to lift the eyelid is performed, referred to as ptosis surgery. Read more eyelid surgery questions at http://www.buckinghamfacialplastics.com/faqs-blepharopalsty.html.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I am a 42 year old mom of three. I don’t feel old, yet I feel like I constantly look exhausted. Does blepharoplasty help reduce darkness under the eyes?
Answer:
In most cases the answer is yes. The most common cause of dark circles under the eyes is a shadow created by the contrast between the lower eyelid and cheek. At times fat needs to be removed from under the eye, but in almost all cases the hollow under the eye referred to as the orbital groove or tear trough needs to be filled as well. Often filling the groove is the only procedure necessary. The goal is to re-create the convexity of youth in the lower eyelid in order for light to strike the area and remove the shadow. Adding filler can be accomplished non-surgically in the office by utilizing Restylane or surgically by utilizing the patient’s own fat cells. The filler is temporary, but will usually last 1-2 years. Fat is much more permanent and may last 10 years or longer.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I heard that you can get something of an upper eyelid lift with fat injections to the temples. Is this effective?
Answer:
You can certainly get some lifting with fat injections into the temple and upper orbital rim area, however I would not recommend doing it. If you are going to undertake volume restoration for the temple area only, I would use something like Sculptra or Radiesse instead. If you were looking to restore volume to the face as a whole, then temples can certainly be included. The results from this are not equal to an upper eyelid blepharoplasty for upper eyelid rejuvenation however. A consultation will be able to provide you with the necessary information to make an educated decision.
Question:
I am interested in having eyelid surgery soon. Is it possible to combine this procedure with another? As in once the fat is removed is from the eyelids could it be injected into another part if my body?
Answer:
Blepharoplasty can be combined with other procedures, but the fat that may be required to be removed is not in sufficient quantity to be injected elsewhere. There is a procedure for the lower eyelids where the fat is not removed, but is rather repositioned from the superior eyelid to the trough of the lower eyelid where it smoothes the junction with the cheek.
