Your eyes are one of the first areas to show signs of aging. Prominent bags under they eyelids can be congenital making the appearance noticeable at a very young age. It is not uncommon for people to display signs of orbital fat prolapse In their early 20s. Injectable fillers like Restylane can be placed into to tear trough to help camouflage the fat by adding volume. Eyelid surgery, also called blepharoplasty, is the only permanent solution to this problem area. If the only feature being addressed is prominent fat prolapse, the excess fat can be removed from inside of the eyelid avoiding any external incisions or scarring.
Over time many people experience a surplus of both orbital fat and eyelid skin. There are several treatment options available which can be uniquely tailored to meet your specific eyelids.
1) If there is excess fat and a mild excess of skin, the fat can be removed from inside the eyelid and the lower lid can be tightened using a CO2 laser. This avoids any external incisions or visible scarring. This procedure is common for people in their late 30s to early 40s.
2) If there is excess fat and moderate excess of skin, the fat can be removed from inside of the eyelid and the excess skin can be carefully removed using the “pinch” technique. This is the most common method of lower blepharoplasty and is a good correction for people in the late 40s and early 50s.
3) If there is excess fat, excess skin and a prominent tear trough, the best option available is to remove the skin and fat all from an external approach. The excess muscle is also trimmed and repositioned to improve the tear trough. Occasionally the orbital fat can be repositioned to soften the deep tear trough as well.
4) If there is excess fat, excess skin and a very deep tear trough, the best correction is through a lower blepharoplasty and midface lift. The midface lift is a powerful tool to address sagging in the brow, lower lid, tear trough, midface and nasolabial fold. This procedures requires a bit of downtime but is uniquely designed to correct sagging in these difficult to improve areas.
If you have questions about cosmetic eyelid surgery, please contact Kolstad Facial Plastic Surgery to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kolstad. You may call our office at 858.859.2563 to schedule your appointment today. We are conveniently located in in La Jolla between I5 and I 805. We serve men and women in La Jolla, Del Mar, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Solano Beach, Encinitas and Southern California.
