Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty) in Houston, TX
Premier Plastic Surgery offers eyelid surgery by accomplished plastic surgeon Christopher Hankins, MD to enhance your appearance and help build your confidence. Dr. Hankins and his dedicated staff are lifting spirits along with droopy eyelids all over South Houston, including Houston, Pearland, Lake Jackson, TX.
What is Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)?
Eyelid surgery is done to improve the appearance of excess skin and fat of the eyelids that can cause someone to look old, tired, or angry. Eyelid surgery is a commonly sought after procedure for individuals with a double eyelid. Blepharoplasty can reduce the appearance of fine lines and bags under the eyes. The surgery can also help to improve your vision and provide a refreshed appearance.
About Eyelid Surgery
The occurrence of bags under the eyes or bulging and redundancy of the lower eyelid tissue is multi-factorial. First are the effects of solar exposure which results in thinning of the skin, loss of elasticity, and the formation of wrinkles.
Loss of elasticity of the orbital septum that contains the intraorbital fat can result in bulging of the lower eyelid.
Descent of the malar fat pad of the mid face results in apparent lengthening of the lower eyelid and loss of soft tissue coverage of the lower orbital bony rim, which commonly becomes noticeable in middle age. Concurrently, there is an enlargement of the orbit due to resorption of bone as part of the aging process.
Lastly, a generalized loss of fatty tissue of the face results in a deflationary effect of the mid face, accentuating the effects of malar fat pad descent.
What Are the Benefits of Eyelid Surgery?
The malar fat pad can be accessed thru a lower blepharoplasty incision. Elevation of the malar fat to correct its descent, malar (cheek) implants to further augment the mid face, or fat grafting may be necessary to counteract the deflationary effects of generalized fat loss of the face as noted above.
Mid-facial augmentation may also be beneficial if the mid face is recessed behind the vector of the cornea of the eye, a so called negative vector mid-face. The mid face is also augmented by a high lamellar SMAS lift.
In younger patients with only bulging of the lower eyelids, without excess skin, it is possible that simple removal of the apparent excess fat by a transconjunctival blepharoplasty may be sufficient to correct the deformity.
In older patients, the skin of the lower eyelids usually suffers from loss of elasticity from solar elastosis, requiring trimming and redraping. Resurfacing from either a chemical peel or laser treatment may help in part to correct the damage inflicted by the sun.
When there is frank laxity of the lower eyelid that can be demonstrated by a snap test or by visibility of the sclera between the iris and the lower eyelid, the eyelid should be tightened by either a lateral canthopexy or a lateral canthoplasty.
In a canthopexy, the lateral canthal ligament is tightened, whereas in a canthoplasty, the lower division of the lateral canthal ligament is divided and reattached to the thickened periosteum of the orbital rim known as the arcus marginalis. In some cases, a small length of the lower tarsal plate is denuded of mucosa and skin, which is then directly attached to the orbital rim, known as a tarsal strip procedure.
In most cases of lower lid blepharoplasty, it is prudent to incorporate either a canthopexy or canthoplasty as a preventative measure against postoperative lower lid malposition (ectropion).
In examination of the upper eyelid, it is vitally important to distinguish between excess skin of the upper eyelid and drooping or ptosis of the brow. The eyebrow normally sits at the level of the upper bony rim of the orbit with the outer or lateral third of the brow in women projecting slightly above the rim. If this is not the case, correction of the brow ptosis is vitally important to obtain the optimum result.
What many plastic surgeons will not tell the patient is that the frontalis muscle, the muscle that elevates the brows, may be in spasm in the case of brow ptosis to maintain the field of vision. When the obstructing skin is removed in an upper blepharoplasty, the frontalis muscle will relax, and result in settling of the brows to a lower position than was present preoperatively. It may be necessary to perform both a brow lift and/or an upper blepharoplasty as required to obtain the optimum result.
How much does eyelid surgery cost? Premier Plastic Surgery proudly offers financing options for our patients – call our office for pricing information.
Sometimes drooping eyelids are a cosmetic annoyance, making you feel older than your years when you see your reflection. Other times, the need for eyelid surgery is to make the lid more functionally useful, such as when the drooping begins to impede your vision. To find out more about how blepharoplasty may benefit you, contact us to set up a free consultation. We’re delighted to serve men and women in Houston, Pearland, Lake Jackson and the nearby communities of South Houston.