Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and TV personality Dr. Garth Fisher often says that the human eye can detect even one millimeter of change. But unless that eye is highly trained, it’s usually impossible to pinpoint the exact difference—when done right, things just look perkier, glowier, younger. There’s one aesthetic change in particular that’s taking over the faces of Hollywood’s young, rich and famous: an ever-so-subtle wing effect at the outer eye corners. In expert hands, the look can be achieved seemingly effortlessly—either through a masterful flick of liquid liner or, in the right medical setting, through a couple of increasingly popular oculoplastic procedures that might just be poised to become the next big tweaks.
But first, some background on the term eye lift, which can mean many things. Traditionally, an eye lift translates surgically to a blepharoplasty, a procedure that moves or removes fat and skin from the lower and/or upper eyelid and can range in cost from $600 to $8,500, depending on the range of difficulty and your surgeon’s experience and location. A blepharoplasty can be done under local or general anesthesia, and the procedure can dramatically change the appearance of bags or hooded eyelids; tired eyes are freshened and given a lifted appearance that coffee and mascara could never achieve.
Another traditional surgical technique, a lateral eyebrow lift (or temporal lift), is among the least invasive facial surgical procedures and targets only the outer portion of the eyebrows, as opposed to the entire brow. Pulling the outer half of the eyebrow muscles can help result in the cat-eye appearance that’s currently trending as well as change the shape of a downward-slanting brow to create more of a straight line, in the style of Ariana Grande’s iconic look. A lateral eyebrow lift can be done by way of an endoscope or more traditional cutting procedures, and the average cost according to RealSelf members is $7,175.
But a certain younger set of patients are opting for a little-known, specialized oculoplastic procedure called a canthoplasty to create the coveted cat-eye shape. (Doctors say that patients also refer to the look as almond-eye or fox-eye.)
What is canthoplasty, aka cat-eye surgery?
A canthoplasty alters the lateral canthus (corner where the eyelids meet) by tightening and elongating the eye horizontally. The procedure is typically used to correct drooping eyes due to age, but these in-the-know patients are using canthoplasty to alter the shape of the actual eye—not just the areas around the eye—by giving it a more almond shape. During the surgery, the lateral canthus is lifted, tightened, and repositioned. Often, canthoplasty is done in tandem with a blepharoplasty; the incision marks are the same, so removing excess skin or fat and lifting the outer corners of the eye can and are typically done in the same sitting.
Dr. Mehryar (Ray) Taban is a Beverly Hills, California, oculoplastic surgeon and ophthalmologist who treats many of the most famous eyes. Most of his patients are under the age of 40, and he says those specifically seeking to change their eye shape with his almond-eye surgery tend to be younger patients, in their 20s and 30s. He explains that the full surgery can encompass a combination of procedures, often a canthoplasty and upper and lower blepharoplasty, to achieve the desired eye shape and look. “It requires a detailed analysis of each individual anatomy and desired goal, to determine what procedure or procedures are needed to achieve more almond-shaped eyes.”
The eye-shape goals are subtle and should not be hyper-noticeable. “For instance,” Taban describes, “the work of an almond-eye surgery can help some patients achieve that Kendall Jenner look.”
How long is recovery after a cat eye lift?
Recovery time for the almond-eye procedure is minimal, Dr. Taban says. You can expect mild to moderate pain for one day and limited vision for the first week, during which you’ll be wearing a dressing to protect the eye. Visible swelling and bruising can last up to two weeks. When questioned about the risks, Dr. Taban describes a different pattern of concern from that of typical surgical procedures. He notes: “Normal risks—as with any other surgeries—such as infection or bleeding are rare, [but] there is an added risk of asymmetry, along with either uncorrected or overcorrected results.”
Dr. Taban remains on speed dial for the eye-related needs of It girls and guys: “I receive many young women and men you’d recognize from Instagram, interested in improving their eye shape,” he says. And unless selfie culture suddenly comes to an end, don’t expect demand to slow down any time soon. Multiple Beverly Hills surgeons we spoke to for this story said they perform hundreds of these procedures a year and have seen an increasing interest in cat-eye plastic surgery amongst young patients, driven mainly by Instagram. Typically, the cat eyelid surgery cost is similar to what doctors charge for blepharoplasty, so it’s safe to assume you’ll be investing a few thousand dollars.
Cat-eye thread lifts
Cat-eye thread lifts are also trending on the social media app. Dr. Sarmela Sunder, a facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, says that while she performs them and has seen beautiful results, their biggest downfall is how short-lasting they are—two to three months, at best. “The ones that last the longer end of this spectrum look extremely pulled and unnatural, with tethering and puckering which patients don’t really like,” Dr. Sunder says, noting that eyes generally go back to where they were pre-treatment unless the threads were placed too superficially and leave scars. The surgeon says many of the surgical lifts she does are on patients who weren’t satisfied with the longevity of their thread lift.
Beverly Hills facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Jonathan Cabin also specializes in surgical and nonsurgical rejuvenation procedures. As with most doctors in the 90210 zip code, Dr. Cabin’s procedural requests typically stem from a heavily made-up or altered Instagram photo. “One thing people have to be careful about when extrapolating procedures is [not forgetting that] models have access to extensive makeup daily as well as brow shaping.”
Many surgeons will admit that “there are things you can do with your hands that we can’t do with surgery.” Often this is regurgitated back to patients while they’re tugging on various parts of their face, asking, “What about this?” Dr. Cabin makes a similar point: the degree to which someone is made up can distort just how much alteration can actually be done with a scalpel versus with a makeup brush or FaceTune—which is why it’s always best to find makeup-free and naturally lit reference photos.
Related: Waking up tired eyes: What really goes into an eyelid lift
Dr. Cabin’s views on canthoplasty, specifically, are conservative. He feels that altering the canthus should not be done cosmetically, and if so, should be left to an oculoplastic expert. “When most people ask me for an eye lift, they’re typically referring to an upper blepharoplasty. Unless someone has an actual problem with the eye, I don’t like to do that kind of [canthoplasty] stitching, because the eyelids [involve] such a sensitive and dynamic process. Changing that dynamic interaction with suturing can cause people to feel uncomfortable, and it can look weird over time,” he says.
Instead, Dr. Cabin chooses to stick with lateral (temporal) brow lifts, either endoscopically or using traditional incisions, to enhance eye shape or upper and lower blepharoplasty when rejuvenating the area around the eyes.
Dr. Carlo Honrado, a Beverly Hills, California, facial plastic surgeon and otolaryngologist, utilizes the canthoplasty procedure for appropriate candidates but is discerning when surgery is strictly cosmetic. “For me, [canthoplasty] is done for individuals who have laxity in that area where you see scleral show—a rounding of the eye. For those individuals, it’s definitely appropriate to tighten up that area.”
For purely cosmetic purposes, however, Dr. Honrado warns interested patients of the risks and the difficulty of reversal. “From a cosmetic standpoint, that is definitely different. You really need to be on the same page as the person and discuss the risks and benefits. Reversing [a canthoplasty] is hard to do, so if you don’t get it right the first time, you can get changes that are not wanted.”
He also describes the level of overall commitment to upkeep that will have to be maintained if too much of the eye is lifted and tightened at an early age, “If the lower face is aging faster and the eye area has been worked on, the aesthetic disconnection will start to look very strange.”
Canthoplasty is a specialized procedure with its own set of risks, many of which are still unknown. But the cat-eye surgery trend may be here for the long haul—so if that supermodel’s selfie is drawing you in, speak to a board-certified plastic surgeon with experience specifically in and around the eye area. Otherwise, you can always learn some really expert eyeliner techniques.
