THE AGING EYE

The aging appearance of the eye is often a combination of a progressive descent of the brow, heaviness of the upper eyelid, and a baggy appearance of the lower eyelid. The individual contributions of each of these factors varies from patient to patient and each of them can be addressed separately or in a combined procedure.

The key factor in treating the eye area is making the correct diagnosis so that the appropriate procedures are performed. If the problem is a low-lying brow, removing upper eyelid skin can make the brow appear even lower. Conversely, trying to correct upper eyelid skin redundancy with a brow lift will result in excessive brow elevation and a surprised look.

The aging lower eyelid is often a combination of prominent fat pads and a depressed lid-cheek junction or tear trough that creates a circle under the eyelid. Removing fat in the setting of a deep tear trough leaves that problem uncorrected or may even make it appear worse.

This patient example demonstrates a patient with a low-lying brow that creates a heavy appearance at the junction of the brow and the upper eyelid. The lower eyelid has a moderate amount of fat excess and depression of the lid-cheek junction that creates a tired appearance.

Treatment of the aging eye with an endoscopic brow lift and a fat transposition lower blepharoplasty

The patient underwent an endoscopic brow lift and a fat transposition blepharoplasty of the lower eyelid. The brow lift was performed using specialized instrumentation introduced through small incisions within the scalp and enabled a correction of the heavy appearance of the upper eyelid, in this case, without any skin excision. The lower eyelid was improved by releasing the tear trough ligament and draping the excess lower eyelid fat across the lid-cheek junction to fill the depression. This procedure is distinct from more traditional fat removal procedures of the lower eyelid. The combination of surgical procedures resulted in a more youthful and rested appearance that appears natural.

Written by Dr. Forley on April 27, 2020