How Often Do Asians Experience Unnatural Results After Asian Eyelid Surgery?

Two factors contribute to an undesirable outcome: inexperience on the part of the surgeon and difficult anatomy of the particular patient's anatomy. Some eyes are easier than others, and the more experienced and well trained the surgeon is, the more likely the outcome will be good. One thing under the patient's control: don't smoke. It affects wound healing.

If you ask some one who does primary Asian eyelid surgery, they are going to tell you it is very rare.  Perhaps they are being honest.  I fix Asian eyelid surgery that goes bad.  Consequently I see several new patients each week who have had a problem after Asian eyelid surgery.  I think a reasonable estimate is that 5 to 10 % of cases might benefit from revisional surgery.  This figure will be lower in very experienced hands and higher otherwise.

Whether you are considering Korean eyelid surgery, Chinese eyelid surgery or Japanese eyelid surgery, the common desire is typically to have the eyes appear more open. As an Oculofacial Plastic and reconstructive surgeon super-specializing in the eyes and face, many of my clients travel from around the world to my offices in New York City actually come to me for revision surgery after previous Asian Eyelid surgery with other surgeons. If you do research on the internet, you will find many different styles and techniques for Asian Double Eyelid Surgery. Nonincisional procedures as well as incisional procedures or limited incisional procedures can be customized to your needs. Creating a natural appearance in the Asian eyelid also must take into account the age and gender of the patient. It’s critical to avoid removing too much skin or fat which is a common technical error made by surgeons less familiar with Asian eyes.  Proper surgery begins with a design which is drawn prior to the procedure. Many Asians who have had eyelid surgery they are not happy with have scars which go outside the natural crease and are difficult to manage. One of the most frequent mistakes that plastic surgeons have made is “Americanizing” or “Europeanizing” the eyelids. This results in a very unnatural appearance.

A common misquided approach is to westernize the asian eyelid. This is something that you will have to discuss with your surgeon in great detail. You need to really sit down and discuss how you will want your fold. A surgeon should emulate some results for you by using instruments to test the fold and show you in the mirror. In most experienced surgeons opinions, your fold should not be higher than 3mm to maintain some ethnicity. An inside fold is more asian than an outside fold. A smaller crease is more asian than a higher one. An epicanthal fold is more asian than one that does not have an epicanthal fold.

While there are a variety of reasons one may find Asian blepharoplasty results unnatural, a crease (or fold) that is too high is often the problem. This may be due to surgeon technique, but commonly undiagnosed and untreated ptosis (drooping of the eyelid) contributes to the unnaturally high crease. If so, ptosis repair at the time of crease revision can be corrective.