UPPER AND LOWER EYELID LIFT, OR BLEPHAROPLASTY

With aging comes the effects of gravity, loss of natural soft tissue elasticity, and fullness developing in areas where we would rather not experience it. The eyelids can sometimes harbor the first signs of aging in some people’s faces. Sagging or extra skin in the upper or lower eyelid can make you appear tired, angry, or frustrated even if you’re not. If severe, eyelid aging can even result in partial vision loss. The aging signs around the eye, except for the “crow’s feet” of the lateral eye, are also not treated by Botox, which is a common misconception. There are various non-surgical treatments for signs of aging of the upper and lower eyelid, including laser treatments for skin rejuvenation or filler treatments to camouflage the undereye “bags,” otherwise known as the “tear trough deformity.” But the highest yield of any eyelid rejuvenation procedure is going to be surgery with an eyelid lift, otherwise called a blepharoplasty.

What Does an Eyelid Lift Fix?

A blepharoplasty, or eyelid lift, is an outpatient surgical procedure that features the removal of excess skin and fat deposits, which are removed from the upper and/or lower eyelid. An upper eyelid lift involves an incision made on the upper eyelid, and the excess skin and fat are removed. The muscles around the eye are then tightened, and the remaining skin is lifted. In a lower eyelid lift, Dr. Day will make a small incision within the eyelid and under the lower lash line to remove fatty deposits and any excess skin tissue. The eyelids have very predictable fat pads that can begin to protrude when we age, causing increased prominence of the areas around the eyes. This can manifest as several aesthetic concerns one has regarding their eye area, such as:

• Sagging, puffy, or loose skin around the eyes
• Under-eye bags, or tear trough deformity, which forms a half circle under the eye in the lower eyelid
• Excess fat deposits
• Unwanted eyelid folds, coarse and fine lines
• Hooded eyelid that drapes down over the side portion of the upper eyelid
• Blockage of portions of the field of vision

How Does an Eyelid Lift Work?

In a blepharoplasty procedure, each portion of an eyelid’s signs of aging can be reversed through:

• The removal of excess skin
• Removal of portions of the fat pads
• Tightening of the internal structures that have become lax and sagging

Not only can an eyelid lift eliminate these cosmetic concerns, but it can help you obtain a more refreshed, youthful, and attractive appearance. In some cases, an eyelid lift even helps to improve one’s vision and create rounder-looking eyes. Candidates for eyelid surgery include anyone that is in reasonably good health and is unhappy with the skin around their eye. Additionally, eyelid surgery can sometimes help with a medical condition called ptosis.

There are additionally some special scenarios for eyelid procedures, such as Asian patients that want to transform their eyelid into a more almond-shape, the so-called “Asian blepharoplasty” or “double-lid surgery.”

Patients are typically amazed at how little scarring is experienced long-term after eyelid surgery. Depending on the severity of your eye bags and skin concerns, Dr. Day may be able to perform your eyelid surgery with no external incision. Additionally, many choose to combine an eyelid lift surgery with other non-invasive procedures, such as lasers and micro-needling, to maximize results.

Recovering From an Eyelid Lift?

Since eyelid surgery is an outpatient procedure, you’ll be able to return home immediately after. Patients typically experience swelling, bruising, and some mild discomfort immediately following the procedure up until a few days. Some also experience blurred vision, dry eyes, and a slight sensitivity to bright light. Keep in mind that these side effects are completely normal for this type of procedure and should disappear after a few days.

Dr. Day and his team will direct you to use a cold compress, pain medication, and prescription eyedrops to help you manage discomfort and minimize swelling in the days following your surgery. They will also provide a prescription ointment to apply to your surgical incisions. It is recommended that you take 3-5 days off work and avoid heavy lifting and exercise for up to two weeks following the surgery.

The lower eyelids can sometimes harbor signs of aging in the form of under eye bags, or “tear trough deformity.” This is a correctable condition, which is treated by the surgical removal of some very predictable fat pads along with elimination of excess skin. A very reliable approach in a paper by leading experts describes our approach to this condition. If you’ve been told that you look tired, unrested, have under-eye bags, or employ the famous cucumber slices and cool compresses frequently, then you may benefit from this uplifting procedure. It can have a powerful effect on the signs of facial aging in the middle face. Reach out today to see if you’re a candidate!

UPPER AND LOWER EYELID LIFT, OR BLEPHAROPLASTY

With aging comes the effects of gravity, loss of natural soft tissue elasticity, and fullness developing in areas where we would rather not experience it. The eyelids can sometimes harbor the first signs of aging in some people’s faces. Sagging or extra skin in the upper or lower eyelid can make you appear tired, angry, or frustrated even if you’re not. If severe, eyelid aging can even result in partial vision loss. The aging signs around the eye, except for the “crow’s feet” of the lateral eye, are also not treated by Botox, which is a common misconception. There are various non-surgical treatments for signs of aging of the upper and lower eyelid, including laser treatments for skin rejuvenation or filler treatments to camouflage the undereye “bags,” otherwise known as the “tear trough deformity.” But the highest yield of any eyelid rejuvenation procedure is going to be surgery with an eyelid lift, otherwise called a blepharoplasty.

What Does an Eyelid Lift Fix?

A blepharoplasty, or eyelid lift, is an outpatient surgical procedure that features the removal of excess skin and fat deposits, which are removed from the upper and/or lower eyelid. An upper eyelid lift involves an incision made on the upper eyelid, and the excess skin and fat are removed. The muscles around the eye are then tightened, and the remaining skin is lifted. In a lower eyelid lift, Dr. Day will make a small incision within the eyelid and under the lower lash line to remove fatty deposits and any excess skin tissue. The eyelids have very predictable fat pads that can begin to protrude when we age, causing increased prominence of the areas around the eyes. This can manifest as several aesthetic concerns one has regarding their eye area, such as:

• Sagging, puffy, or loose skin around the eyes
• Under-eye bags, or tear trough deformity, which forms a half circle under the eye in the lower eyelid
• Excess fat deposits
• Unwanted eyelid folds, coarse and fine lines
• Hooded eyelid that drapes down over the side portion of the upper eyelid
• Blockage of portions of the field of vision

How Does an Eyelid Lift Work?

In a blepharoplasty procedure, each portion of an eyelid’s signs of aging can be reversed through:

• The removal of excess skin
• Removal of portions of the fat pads
• Tightening of the internal structures that have become lax and sagging

Not only can an eyelid lift eliminate these cosmetic concerns, but it can help you obtain a more refreshed, youthful, and attractive appearance. In some cases, an eyelid lift even helps to improve one’s vision and create rounder-looking eyes. Candidates for eyelid surgery include anyone that is in reasonably good health and is unhappy with the skin around their eye. Additionally, eyelid surgery can sometimes help with a medical condition called ptosis.

There are additionally some special scenarios for eyelid procedures, such as Asian patients that want to transform their eyelid into a more almond-shape, the so-called “Asian blepharoplasty” or “double-lid surgery.”

Patients are typically amazed at how little scarring is experienced long-term after eyelid surgery. Depending on the severity of your eye bags and skin concerns, Dr. Day may be able to perform your eyelid surgery with no external incision. Additionally, many choose to combine an eyelid lift surgery with other non-invasive procedures, such as lasers and micro-needling, to maximize results.

Recovering From Eyelid Surgery?

Since eyelid surgery is an outpatient procedure, you’ll be able to return home immediately after. Patients typically experience swelling, bruising, and some mild discomfort immediately following the procedure up until a few days. Some also experience blurred vision, dry eyes, and a slight sensitivity to bright light. Keep in mind that these side effects are completely normal for this type of procedure and should disappear after a few days.

Dr. Day and his team will direct you to use a cold compress, pain medication, and prescription eyedrops to help you manage discomfort and minimize swelling in the days following your surgery. They will also provide a prescription ointment to apply to your surgical incisions. It is recommended that you take 3-5 days off work and avoid heavy lifting and exercise for up to two weeks following the surgery.

The lower eyelids can sometimes harbor signs of aging in the form of under eye bags, or “tear trough deformity.” This is a correctable condition, which is treated by the surgical removal of some very predictable fat pads along with elimination of excess skin. A very reliable approach in a paper by leading experts describes our approach to this condition. If you’ve been told that you look tired, unrested, have under-eye bags, or employ the famous cucumber slices and cool compresses frequently, then you may benefit from this uplifting procedure. It can have a powerful effect on the signs of facial aging in the middle face. Reach out today to see if you’re a candidate!

COMPRESSION GARMENTS

Whether or not you believe the clothes make the man…or woman, or you think that saying is outdated, there is little debate that compression garments improve outcomes after body contouring procedures. Compression, or contour, garments, or fajas, are clothing that is worn after a surgical procedure to help shape and heal the area operated upon. They are made of relatively strong fabric that can generate and maintain a certain amount of tension when worn to improve healing postoperatively. Compression garments provide several benefits, including:

• Avoidance of fluid accumulation between tissue planes
• Shaping of the tissue for optimal results
• Support and comfort of the surgical site

Why Do Compression Garments Work?

The reason that compression garments can help is due to the way in which body contouring procedures, like liposuction, breast reduction, breast lift, tummy tuck, and Brazilian butt lift (or BBL) help shape the body. Each of these procedures creates a flap and/or “lamination,” or layering, of the tissues in some respect. These layers can be associated with “potential space,” or cavities between the tissue that the body tends to fill with fluid, based on the adage that “nature abhors a vacuum.” Therefore, a seroma, or fluid pocket, can accumulate within any space or between layers within the body after surgery. However, if these spaces are compressed, then it is harder for fluid to fill to any significant degree. The body is also prone to heal in the orientation that it is held in after surgery. If, for example, the breast is held in a more rounded and symmetrical orientation with garments, then that is the shape that they are likely to assume post-operatively. Compression garments can thereby both prevent complications and improve results!

What Are Compression Garments?

Compression, or contour, garments are simply clothing that is made from stronger and less distensible material so that it can exert a reasonable amount of force on the tissue to provide shaping and support. After all, the goal of body contouring procedures is to provide improved shape to the abdomen, hips, back, breast, thighs, and neck. The best result for these areas includes using a contour garment, which can refine the definition of any surgery or minimally invasive procedure. Contour, or compression, garments give additional support to the regions of the body that have received a procedure to prevent unwanted fluid accumulation, decreased swelling, or speed up the rate of recovery of these tissues.

What’s the Difference Between Compression Garments and Clothing?

Compression garments fit more snugly and are made from material that can apply greater amounts of pressure than even compressive clothing, like a sports bra. Contour, or compression, garments are made of strong elastic fabric that can be stretched to apply tension when worn properly. There thereby exert a continuous pressure on tissue that would not otherwise be generated by clothing alone.

Are There Different Types of Compression Garments?

 Yes, there are several different types of compression garments. Many companies make compression garments. At Pacific Sound Plastic Surgery, we prefer a well-known brand called Isavella®, but there are many other compression garment companies on the market. Contour garments also differ in what some refer to as “Stage I” and “Stage II” garments. Stage I compression garments refer to greater amounts of compression, which are typically worn in the initial stages of healing, approximately three to six weeks after surgery. Stage II garments, however, mimic more compressive clothing, such as Spanks®, spandex, Under Armor®, or other tight-fitting synthetic clothing. We typically, therefore, recommend that our patients purchase a Stage I compression garment from a higher-end surgical recovery garment company and then either purchase a Stage II garment online or wear compressive clothing.

How Long Do I Have to Wear Compression Garments After Surgery?  

This is the most common question we receive because contour garments can sometimes eventually get uncomfortable. They tend to increase body warmth, sometimes cause chaffing, and some decrease joint mobility a small amount. The short answer is: the longer the better, and the more you wear them the better it will influence your result. We typically suggest that contour garments are worn for at least three weeks for 23-hours a day, and it is best to wear them for six weeks or more. Why 23-hours a day?…because you are of course encouraged to shower and may remove your garment when performing personal hygiene. You will have some improvement in your shape wearing compression garments for the first three months after your procedure. If a compression garment causes chafing, is too hot, or one wants to avoid being seen wearing one, then patients can take a break from wearing them, but the longer they are worn the better. The truth is that compressive garments probably provide benefit all the way to one year postoperative.

If you want to discuss body contouring with Dr. Day, reach out for a consultation! We will employ high grade contour, or compression, garments as well as several other recommendations to achieve your best outcome!