Eyelid Surgery: Q&A

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What Are my Options for an Outer Eye Lift?

I am wondering about different options for a younger person to undergo in order to recapture the eyes' upward tilt without leaving visible scars. I am wondering about different options concerning increasing the upward slant of the outer eye. I am 26 and have firm skin but have found from viewing pictures in high school that my eyes have "fallen" a bit.

I do not have bags under my eyes or wrinkles, so traditional skin-tightening procedures aren't exactly what I'm looking for. But I am interested in hearing all options, particularly ones producing minimal/hidden scarring. Are there perhaps suspension lifts that deal directly with this by tightening the upper cheek and temple area? This is my first exploration into cosmetic procedures that would address this issue, and I was at a loss on how to go about finding specific information that would pertain to me.

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age 25-34 eyes female Virtual consultation

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16 Doctor Answers | Asked by neopsytox in Houston, TX

Doctor Answers (16)
Community Comments (0)

A simple filler injection will plump the cheek and help

I agree with the other doctors that your face looks very youthful. I would not mar your face with surgical scars. A canthoplasty at this early stage will adversely affect your eyelid shape. Please do not take offense, but honestly the main difference I see in your face in the latest picture is that you look sad. If you have been through some life experience that has saddened or depressed you, then I would recommend that you address this. Sadness shows dramatically in the face and makes... more

Only minimal intervention, if any

I agree that surgery is too drastic for such a slight change you feel you see. A little filler can elevate the lateral lower lid and lateral canthus, which is what you are calling the "outer eye".

You really do not need surgery

You really do not need surgical intervention for your concerns. You may benefit by some Botox in the lateral orbital area to help "open up your eye" and filler, such as Radiesse in your cheek area. You are correct that you do not need traditional surgery at this point.

I would not touch your eyes

I appreciate the slight change you have been observing but I certainly would not recommend surgery for your eyes -- they look great and youthful! I do notice some subtle change in the volume distribution of the central cheeks below the eyes: you lost just a bit of volume in this region. This is not an issue today, but may be 10 years or so from now.

You may not need surgery at this point

Dear Neopsytox, So do your really need surgery? Much of cosmetic surgery has nothing to do with aging and every thing to do with aesthetics. If you presented to my office, I would ask you how many hours a day do you spend thinking about your appearance, what shame values do you place on your looks, do you have a psychotoxic mother who makes to feel insecure about your appearance and perhaps a father who was not emotionally available. I would also want to know if you have a history of... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

7 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

No surgery

You have very youthful and attractive face. . Please look at your self and enjoy the the face you have. I would not recommend any procedures at this time.

Kamran Khoobehi, MD

28 reviews

New Orleans Plastic Surgeon

Relax!

Although you may look different then 5 years ago, you still look beautiful. No surgery is indicated. However, I am often confronted with patients that do have a significant drop in their brow and extra sag of their upper lid as a result. For those patients, limited lateral browlifts do an excellent job without the risks of more elaborate browlifts, and more effective then purly endoscopic procedures.

Microadjustment of eye shape

There are certainly procedures that would technically address your concerns: conservative upper blepharoplasty, lateral subcutaneous browlift, superficial cheeklift (USIC), ultrashort incision. Those procedures are reviewed in the book chapter below. The real question is should you have surgery so early in your life? All surgery, no matter how artistically performed, leaves traces behind, more with some surgeons than others. That is a decision you and your surgeon will need to make. more

No simple fix for you

The surgical procedure for what you want is called a canthopexy in which the outer corner of the eye is elevated slightly and anchored to the bone. I would personally advise that you not do it because if it isn't perfectly symmetrical, you will be very sad you did it. It can also decrease the width of your eye and make you look like a different person. Also, with all due respect, you seem like you are excessively critical of your very attractive appearance. If you are unhappy with tiny... more

Outer eye lift

It is impossible to have an upper blepharoplasty done without leaving a very tiny inconspicuous incision along the upper lid crease. Whatever excess skin is present laterally on the upper-outer eyelids, the surgeon has to make an incision there to be able to get rid of excess skin. This is usually blended into crow’s-feet wrinkles and as long as there is no tension placed on the skin, the incision should heal beautifully.

Lateral Canthal Tilt

As we age, our cheek fat pad begins to drop. This, along with peri-orbital deflation, increases the lid margin to cheek distance that we start to see in our late 20's. Laxity of the lateral canthal tendon and tarsal plate also progress with age. These factors tend to make the eye look rounder and less almond-shaped. Some non-invasive techniques would include small amounts of Botox to elevate the lateral brow and a Hyaluronic Acid filler for shaping of the peri-orbital soft tissues. ... more

I would leave your face alone.

Hi! You look young and very attractive. The fact that you look a little different than you did 5 years ago is not good enough reason to have surgery. Remember, there is no such thing as completely risk-free surgery. You could look worse afterwards. Eventually, you should have a canthopexy which will slightly raise the outer corners of your eyes with essentially no noticeable scars.

Canthopexy

There are many methods to angle the lower lid upwards. The easiest is essentially a one-stitch technique lifting and tightening the outer corner of the lower lid to the covering of the bone of the eye socket. However, to achieve this, you will need a small incision in the outer crease of the upper eyelid. Whether this incision will be visible depends on the actual anatomy of your upper lid crease. This can be done without detaching the canthal ligament and so is irreversible by cutting the... more

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD

4 reviews

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Canthal tilt

Recreation of your old canthal tilt is one of the most technical procedure in eye lid surgery. In many cases, we do this procedure following trauma or previous surgery. For cosmetic purposes all risks and alternatives must be well discussed. A plastic surgeon with interest and special training in occuloplastic surgery would be an ideal choice for this kind of surgery. An small external incision in the crease could be the access incision to perform this procedure.

You'll get a great result with a canthopexy

Fortunally you live in a city with a large number of plastic surgeons. Thank you for including pictures, it makes this so much easier. Your diagnosis is correct, you have loss of lower lid support and upper lid support at the lateral retinaculum. Okay a very medical word but it means the lateral corner of the eye. This can be fixed with a small incision in the corner of the eye, and superior fixation of the canthus. Also, you have a very slight descent of the left brow. Not a concern... more

Canthopexy would be a good approach for correction

From evaluating the pictures which you included with your question, it is clearly evident that you had a more almond shape to your eye before, with a lift to the outer portion of your lower eyelid. This sort of change at your age is generally due to a normal variation in which the bony support underneath your eye is a bit in back of the front of the globe. This allows some stretching of the lateral canthal ligament, the structure that attaches the lower eyelid to the bone laterally.... more