Drooping Eye Lids in my early 20's, is this ptosis or something else? Will my insurance cover it?

Question

Im in my early 20s and in the past couple months Ive noticed that my eye brows and lids dropped. My eye lids have a fold over/crease both when my eyes are open and closed, I can feel the extra weight from this. It hasnt caused any vision loss, but it is quite annoying and Im worried it will only get worse over the years. Does this sound like ptosis? If so what is the best course of action to fix this? Because of my age is my insurance more likely to cover this or does that not make a difference?

Alan B. Brackup, MD, FACS · Answer

Its hard to make an initial assessment without any photos posted. In my practice age is usually not something that makes a huge difference when it comes to insurance coverage. You are however very young. You stated that it does not affect your vision and therefore insurance will likely not cover the procedure. The pre op testing includes visual field testing and in order for insurance to cover the procedure you need to have documented vision loss. Hope this helps.

Thomas Romo, III, MD · Answer

Because of your age you don' t have changes related to the diagnosis of aging face. Therefore you probably have the appearence of the genetic look of prior family members. If not, you may need to be seen by a physician who specializes in eyelid and brow pathology.

Reza Momeni, MD, FACS · Answer

Without a personal exam or at least photos diagnosing you would be impossible.  Most insurance does cover true medical ptosis if it interferes with proper vision, but not for cosmetic reasons.

Drooping Eye Lids in my early 20's, is this ptosis or something else? Will my insurance cover it?

Answers (3)