Eyelid Surgery and Non-Surgical Treatments for Complete Rejuvenation

When you have a conversation with someone, they look at your eyes. What is the appearance of your eyes saying to the people around you?

As we progress from our 30’s into our 40’s and 50’s, a variety of tell-tale signs of aging begin to appear around the eyes. Puffy bags, heavy eyelids, crepey skin and crow’s feet can date you, making you look older than you feel. If you want to look your best at any age, you’ll need to keep your eyes looking refreshed and youthful.

Board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Pinsky recommends pairing eyelid surgery with several less invasive anti-aging procedures for optimal facial rejuvenation with minimal downtime. “If you did nothing else to your face, from a surgical perspective, and the only thing you did was your eyes, the results would be amazing,” says Pinsky. “It would take ten, fifteen years off of how you look.”

Eyelid Surgery

When a plastic surgeon surgically repairs the eyelids, it is referred to as a blepharoplasty. While upper and lower blepharoplasty are often combined, they can also be done separately; not everyone experiences the same signs of aging. One benefit of eyelid surgery is that it can be customized to specifically address every patient’s unique aging concerns.

Excess skin and fat in the upper eyelid causes the eyes to have a heavy, hooded appearance. Through an incision carefully placed where the scar will be hidden within an eyelid crease after surgery, excess skin and fat in the upper eyelid are removed. As a result, the eyes open up, making the patient appear bright eyed and refreshed.

In the lower eyelids, the most common complaint is under eye baggage.  at pads exist around the eyes, serving as cushions to protect the delicate nature of the eye. In youth, those fat pads go unnoticed, as they are held in place below the surface by muscles and tissues. As we age, the muscles and tissues that hold those fat pads in place weaken, and pads of fat can protrude, becoming noticeable as puffy bags below the eyes.

During a lower blepharoplasty, incisions are placed along the lash line or hidden just inside the lower eyelid. Excess fat and sometimes excess skin are removed in order to restore a smooth appearance to the contour of the lower eyelid. “Of all the operations that I do, this is one of the ones that’s not real involved,” shares Dr. Pinsky. “The recovery time is fast, but it makes more of a difference to people than many other operations that we do. Patients feel great about getting their eyelids done.”

Laser Treatment for Crepey Skin

Many people think eyelid surgery also improves the texture of the skin around the eyes, but the truth is that it doesn’t. A loss of elasticity and collagen combined with sun damage can lead to crepey, textured skin. “That fine texturing, the crepe paper quality of the skin, doesn’t change with an eyelid lift,” explains Dr. Pinksy. “We can, however, change it with a laser.”

When dealing with lasers around the eye, it’s very important to see a board certified plastic surgeon who is experienced and familiar with the latest skin resurfacing technology. The skin around the eyes is thin and delicate, so a gentle laser must be used to do a light resurfacing. “We can do a very superficial laser resurfacing,” points out Pinsky. “We can polish that skin and make it look so smooth and so much younger.”

Botox for Crow’s Feet

Anytime you smile, laugh or squint, the muscles around your eyes contract, resulting in wrinkles commonly known as crow’s feet. While crow’s feet are more pronounced when the muscles around your eyes are working, those wrinkles can become etched in your skin over time, remaining visible even when you aren’t smiling, laughing or squinting.

When Botox is injected into the muscles that cause crow’s feet, it works to temporarily weaken the muscles, reducing the appearance of the wrinkles. The results last three to four months in most patients and is an increasingly helpful adjunct to eyelid surgery.

Eyelids + Skin Resurfacing + Botox

Unlike other facial surgeries, eyelid surgery combined with laser skin resurfacing and Botox injections can refresh your face without requiring a long recovery or major scars.

Complete Eye Rejuvenation Combination:

• Upper & Lower Blepharoplasty
• Skin Resurfacing Around the Eyes
• Regular Botox Injections for Crow’s Feet

Dr. Pinsky’s patients rave about the outstanding results of this combination approach to eye rejuvenation. As he puts it, “Patients come in saying, ‘I had my girlfriends tell me, “You look ten years younger!”‘ Who doesn’t want that?”