Eyelid Surgery for Excess Skin

When we think of cosmetic surgery for the face, we often picture full facelift procedures, which are designed to correct sagging skin around the entire facial structure. For many years, this was the case. If you only wanted one area of your face improved, there was not much that could be done, at least in terms of cosmetic surgery. Instead, the face was treated as a whole structure unto itself, rather than a grouping of features, such as eyes, nose and mouth, that could each be individually targeted for improvement with its own unique techniques.

Fortunately, advances in the field of cosmetic surgery, specifically in techniques that addressed the facial features, have made it possible for our surgeons at Jefferson Plastic Surgery in Philadelphia, PA to target only specific areas of the face that can improve the overall facial appearance. One good example of this ability is cosmetic surgery to remove excess loose skin around the eyelids to address hooded upper lids and loose bags under the lower lids.

What Causes Excess Loose Skin around the Upper and Lower Eyelids?

The main reason why you develop excess loose skin around your upper and lower eyelids is due to loss of collagen, which is a natural part of the aging process. Collagen is a protein that your body forms in order to fill out the body over the framework of the skeleton, organs, and muscles. As we age, our bodies not only slow down the production of collagen, but actually start to lose collagen. The end result is excess loose skin around the areas of the body that were previously filled out by collagen. It is particularly noticeable around the eyelids because the skin tends to be much thinner and more delicate than in other areas of the face.

In some other cases, there can be medical reasons for excess skin, particularly around the upper eyelids. The most common of these is a hypoactive or underactive, thyroid. Furthermore, if you had your thyroid removed because it was overactive, you may also have droopy upper eyelids.

Eyelid Procedure

Our surgeons will use either a twilight anesthesia, in which you will be awake but not remember or feel any of the actual surgical procedure, or a general anesthesia for the procedure. The procedure generally does not require an overnight hospital stay and can be done in a same-day surgery center.

• Upper eyelid: Our surgeons will start the procedure on your upper eyelid with an incision that follows the crease of your natural eyelid, in order to minimize the appearance of the scar. The skin of the eyelid will then be gently lifted up, repositioned to remove any excess, and then sutured back into place. In some cases, the eyelid muscles, which control blinking, may also be repositioned.
• Lower eyelid: The incision for this procedure will be made just under the lower lash line. Similar to the technique used to tighten up excess skin in the upper eyelid, our surgeons will then lift up the excess skin around the lower lid, gently pull tight to remove the excess, and then suture the skin back into place. They may also reposition some of the muscles around the lower eyelid.

Given the advances in facial cosmetic surgery over the past 10 to 20 years, something as seemingly small as eyelid surgery to correct for excess skin around the eyelids can make a huge difference in your appearance.