Will a temporal lift make permanent eye shape changes?

Question

Hi I had a deep plane facelift 3 months ago along with dissection of the deep and subcutaneous temporal facia and the surgeon also released the orbicularis oculi muscle during the facelift I am not happy with the fact my eyes are now vertically shorter and abit slanted than before I would like to know how permanent are these manuevers? months or years potentially?

Brian M. Harmych, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question. At only three months out from your deep plane facelift, there is still likely a significant amount of residual swelling, especially in the lateral cheek and periorbital area. This swelling can temporarily create the appearance of a more vertical orientation of the lateral cheek and outer eye region. The maneuvers you described, which include deep and subcutaneous temporal fascia dissection with orbicularis oculi release, do not inherently make the eyes permanently vertically shorter. In most cases, as swelling resolves and tissues continue to relax and settle, the appearance softens considerably. It is common for the most natural and final result to take up to a year or more to fully develop. I hope you find my answer helpful.

Tanveer Janjua, MD · Answer

Eyes can indeed become more slanted at times. This can be corrected with release of any sutures holding up that area or doing a forehead lift with emphasis on the lateral aspect to open up the eyes and reduce the slanted appearance. 
Regards
Dr. J

Will a temporal lift make permanent eye shape changes?

Answers (2)