My eyes used to be one of my best features, but in the past few years my upper eyelids started getting all that extra skin, resulting in multiple deep wrinkles above the crease area. It makes my eyes look older than my 29 years of age, and puffy too, and it really bothers me. Looking at my 64 year old mother, who has a similar eye structure, it seems like it's going to get even worse. Is surgery needed in my case, and if so, should it be done at my age or would it be smarter to wait a few years?
Answer
Even though you are young, you do have some extra skin, and your crease is a bit ill-defined. A conservative blepharoplasty should remove some of this skin, and form a better lid crease so that you will have a more defined platform for makeup. I would not take out any fat as this could create a hollow appearance to your lid.
Dr. John J. Martin, Jr., MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
The indications for upper eyelid surgery are not based on age, it's based on having enough loose/excess skin such that removal will improve the appearance of your eyes. Thank you for your picture; in your situation, you would benefit from an upper blepharoplasty. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia and takes about 30-45 minutes. There is minimal pain or discomfort afterwards.
Dr. Dilip D. Madnani, MD, FACS
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
The key is that less is more. You need what is called an anchor blepharoplasty. It is essential to understand that you need the eyelid cleaned up. This means preserving the upper eyelid fold. Removing a small amount of redundant skin will allow your eyebrows relax to a more natural appearance helping them to look full. Grafting of fat into the upper eyelid is probably not necessary. Please do your homework carefully. Not all eyelid surgeons are created equally. You want your surgery to be awesome, so pick someone with great outcomes. If you study websites, make sure that the pictures you are looking at actually are the surgeon's patients. Believe it or not, some website are boiler-plate and the photos are so-called "pooled" pictures, meaning they may be on a surgeon's website but the work is not the surgeon's work!
Dr. Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
Although you do have loose "extra" skin in the upper eyelids and can benefit from slight skin removal (upper blepharoplasty), the main problem is actually hollowness of the upper eyelid/brows, similar to letting air out of the balloon. You can benefit from concurrent filler or fat injection into the upper eyelid/brow to achieve more youthful appearance. The short answer to your general question is that there is no specific age that surgery is recommended for. See an oculoplastic surgeon for evaluation.
Dr. Mehryar (Ray) Taban, MD, FACS
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
Though heavy, droopy eyelids are typically attributed to the body’s natural aging process, this condition can also develop as early as the teenage years. It is understandable that you are considering an upper blepharoplasty surgery to refresh your look and to match your young age. From the pictures you have provided, it does seem as if you have some extra skin- possibly the result of genetics- that can be removed to give your eyelids a more smoothed look. I highly suggest that you consult with a board certified plastic surgeon to get a professional opinion in person.
