Upper eyelid surgery to repair heavy eyelids? (Photo)

You have a large forehead and low eyebrows. You would benefit from a browlift to lower your hairline and pull up the eyebrows up. This will help some of the upper eyelid skin. You would also benefit from an upper and lower blepharoplasty.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Good morning,
This is a great question, and one that I get asked about a lot. Ptosis is when the eyelid position is low. Imagine taking a light and flashing it at your eyes. You will see a light reflex in the middle of your pupil. The distance between that light and the eyelid margin (area where eyelashes are coming out) is called the margin to reflex distance 1 (MRD1). When that distance is small (the eyelid margin is close to the center of the pupil), you have some degree of eyelid ptosis. Ptosis can be mild, moderate, or severe, and the treatment options depend on the individual findings. Blepharoptosis levator resect surgery is a way to tighten the muscle inside the eyelid that is responsible for opening the eyelid (levator muscle) to raise the resting position of the eyelid margin (increase the distance between the center of the pupil and the eyelid margin, or increase MRD1).
Separately, one can also have heavy upper eyelids. This can be from numerous causes, but most often I see excess skin on the upper eyelids contributing to the heaviness. Additionally, one can also have a degree of eyebrow ptosis. If the eyebrow position is low, this adds extra weight to the eyelids and further causes the heavy appearance. For the heavy eyelids, an upper eyelid blepharoplasty will excess the excess skin (and accumulating fat) to help sculpt and refresh the area. At the same time, doing a brow lift may be helpful to further remove any weight on the eyelids.
Depending on your individual needs, a surgeon may recommend doing any combination of the above surgeries (blepharoplasty, levator muscle tightening surgery, or brow ptosis repair). Each intervention addresses a different component of the heavy eyelids. Of course, an in person evaluation is best to determine what is best for you.
I hope this helps.