Surgical and nonsurgical treatment choices for tear troughs

Joseph Perlman, MD answers: Best approach for tear troughs?

I am 30 year-old male with tear trough at lower eyelids, like dark circles. Last year, I developed some small bags that make the dark circles worse. I have no excess skin. I visited some plastic surgeons, and I was offered Restylane injections or arcus marginalis release with fat reposition (not transconjunctival, since bulging fat is very close to tear duct and hard to deal with through that approach). Is this correct? How close to the bone and inner corner of eyelid can Restylane injections go? My grooves start from the very inner corner next to tear duct.


Joseph Perlman, MD
7 months ago

As you can see from the below answers, all the physicians are in agreement that the problem can be treated nonsurgically with a filler, either fat or dermal injectable, such as a hyaluronic acid or calcium filler. 

Injectable fillers need to be placed deep along the bone and placed slowly and carefully.  These will last about one year.

Surgical treatment requires repositioning the fat in the lower eyelid over the rim and into the tear trough defect.  I have performed this both through an external incision below the lashes as well as on the inside of the eyelid. In your case, I would do this through the inner eyelid because you don't have excess skin to remove. This will give a longer lasting result

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