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Eye Lifts in Boca Raton

Exposing the Beauty of Eyes through Cosmetic Surgery

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity."

Often the look of our eyes divulges the way we feel, our enthusiasm, and our age. The location of the thinnest skin on our bodies, the areas around the eyes are usually the first to succumb to time, as well as the sun and other skin-damaging elements.

Traditional eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is commonly performed by plastic surgeons to improve drooping upper eyelids and puffy bags below the eyes--characteristics that often make people look tired, unenthusiastic, and unhealthy. In some cases, the surgery can correct vision problems.

The traditional eyelid procedure is the second most common aesthetic surgery performed today on men and women, according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. While it does a good job at addressing the problems described above, there are other cosmetic concerns, such as crow's feet around the eyes, that are not necessarily corrected with traditional blepharoplasty. Laser skin resurfacing in combination with botox injections around the eyes can be done in conjunction to blepharoplasty to give patients the results they want.

How it's done

There are important aspects about eyelid surgery. Being aware of them helps to ensure patients' safety

Some diseases, such as hypothyroidism or Graves' disease, cause symptoms, which can include swelling and bulging around the eyes. In many of these cases, cosmetic surgery can make symptoms worse, and surgeons must carefully screen patients for these health problems before doing the procedure. People who have tearing problems generally do not make good candidates for eyelid surgery because the eyes need proper lubrication after surgery in order to heal. Patients are often concerned about losing their vision as a result of the surgery. In reality, the chance of blindness being caused by eyelid surgery is extremely rare; nevertheless, many surgeons use corneal protectors, placed over the eyes during surgery, as an added precaution. Eyelid surgery, in fact, may be performed to improve a patient's peripheral vision, because of skin impairment, in which case it is covered by insurance.

Surgeons usually perform eyelid surgery on an outpatient basis. During the procedure, they remove excess fat, skin, and muscle from the upper and lower lids. On the lower lid, the surgeon makes the incision beneath the lashes, where it is hidden by the eye's natural crease, and on the upper lid, it is made at the natural fold at the back of the lid. Once the fat and skin are removed, the surgeon carefully lifts and places the skin, suturing it in these natural creases. The surgeon should leave some fat so the eyes don't look sunken after surgery.

Incisions fade and become invisible within a few weeks. Patients can go back to work in seven to 10 days, and they can wear contact lenses again after about two weeks.

Combination Techniques Can Enhance Results    

While the benefits of eyelid surgery include emerging with a more refreshed appearance and less puffiness around the eyes, the procedure corrects only the lid areas. It will not take away crow's feet and other wrinkles around the eyes, unless the wrinkles are part of the skin being removed. Eyelid surgery will not lift droopy brows, smooth furrowed lines above the nose, or completely eliminate dark, discolored skin (circles) beneath the eyes. Eyelid surgery will not usually change the shape of the eyes.

To accomplish these results, doctors can combine procedures. For instance, while operating on the lower lids, surgeons can insert cheek implants to create higher, more contoured cheek bones. Eyelid surgery can also easily be done in conjunction with a brow or face lift, to remove surrounding lines and excess skin. Laser skin resurfacing can improve fine wrinkling.

Yet another cosmetic concern plastic surgeons frequently treat is loose lower eyelids. As patients get older, the lower eyelids often sag, causing the white of the eye to show more. The once youthful angled shape of the eye becomes more rounded at the lateral corner. These patients can be candidates for a lid tightening procedure, or canthoplasty, which repositions and tightens the lower lid, eliminating some of the visible areas of white. This same procedure can change the shape of the eye, making the lateral corner of the eye more angled, which is considered by many to be youthful.

Options for younger patients

Patients, often in their 20s or 30s, who inherit a tendency toward puffiness around the eyes can benefit from a procedure called transconjunctival blepharoplasty. Surgeons today permanently remove the fat pockets causing the puffiness by making an internal incision (meaning they make it through the inside of the eyelid where it is not visible) in the lower lid. This procedure can also be ideal for patients of all ages who have already had blepharoplasty, but they continue to be bothered by puffiness around the eyes.

Dr. Lawerence Korpeck offers eyelid surgery and laser resurfacing at his state of the art cosmetic surgery center in Boca Raton, Florida.