The eyelids and the general eye region are the first areas of the face to be affected by ageing process.
First, the outer corners of the eyes show the laugh lines, also known as crow’s feet, then the upper eyelids develop excess skin and start sagging and finally, the lower eyelids also become slack.
The different areas can be treated individually with surgical procedure named “Blepharoplasty” – the technique to do the eyelid correction for example – only the upper eyelid or only the lower eyelid, or both upper- and lower lid combined, depending on the individual situation.
The treatment can be performed using local anesthesia, twilight sleep or general anesthesia.
Which method choosen for the anaesthesia will depend on the individual needs of the patient.
As a rule, treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis, but treatment can also be carried out on an inpatient basis at the patient’s request or because of medical indications like patients with high blood pressure.
During an upper eyelid correction, the eyelid muscle is also tightened and any existing fatty tissue deposits are either repositioned in the orbit (eyeball cavity) or removed. This is decided individually on a case-by-case basis.
The incision is made on the upper eyelid’s natural crease, which means that when the scar looks like a natural crease when the eyes are closed and is not visible when they are open.
For the lower eyelid correction, the incision is made about two millimeters from the eyelashes. There is usually a very subtle natural skin fold and after the wound has healed, the incision is hardly visible and, in most cases, not visible at all.
During a lower eyelid correction, the skin is stretched, and any excess is removed. Here, it is always better not to perform the tightening to the maximum extent possible but to leave some loose skin to ensure the eye can close without a problem.
Nevertheless, it is perfectly normal for the eyes to temporarily not close 100% for about two weeks following eyelid surgery.
In young patients as well as in patients with excess fatty tissue on the lower lid but without excess skin, it is possible to correct the eyelids using laser surgery through a small incision into the mucous membrane of the lower eyelid, called the transconjunctival access. The mucous membrane heals very well within a week.
In the field of eyelid corrections, there are also the so-called ethnic corrections.
People with Asian-shaped eyes can receive a treatment called occidenalization, which is the surgical formation of a lid fold.
Some patients seek this treatment because of their ethnic origin wishing a better integration when living in other geographic regions.
This is also an option for patients with Down syndrome, to eliminate their problems, because of the stigma resulting from their looks.
There are also other situations where an eyelid correction is necessary for medical reasons, for example, after a stroke, when the lower eyelid becomes slack and cannot close completely. In this case, an eyelid lift can be performed using a special technique to restore lid closure.
There are numerous variations of surgical methods for eyelid corrections; the choice depends on the patient’s individual situation.
Eyelid correction can result in an enormously positive change in appearance and cause a rejuvenating effect of around ten years.
The positive result of the eylid correction will stay forever, for example, if you are 40 years old, you will look like 30 years and 20 years later you still will have a rejuvenation effect of 10 years for example with 50 years you will look like 40.
The ageing process will forward and in some cases it can be desired to refresh the rejuvenation effect with a repeating minor lid correction. This can be done without problem again to refresh the appearance.
In selected cases and if desired, it is possible to reshape the eyes making a “cat-eye-look” or an “almond-shaped-eye”.
Professor Felippe has a large experience in all kind of eyelid corrections and also in periorbital surgeries of more than three decades and he has also developed own techniques to improve these kind of operations.
If you are interested to get to know more about eyeylid correction do not hesitate to appoint a consultation with Prof. Felippe to get to know more about the possiblities in your individual situation.