What Eyelid Surgery Technique Doesn't Require Stitches at All?

I have been performing lower eyelid surgery using a CO2  ( carbon dioxide) laser for over 15 years.  The advantage of this technique:


No skin incision

No stitches

No scalpel blade


This same laser helps to stop bleeding so the surgery can be faster with less swelling and black and blueness than traditional methods.  The same laser Mixto can be used to rejuvenate the skin on the lower eyelids.

The attached video is of upper eyelid surgery, where a stitch is necessary.

 

 

When there is minimal excess skin and the muscle has not been stretched beyond  a certain point, transconjunctival lower lid surgery may be appropriate. This is often combined with a form of resurfacing (Chemical Peel or Laser) to tighten the overlying skin. Although many complex fat shifting maneuvers have been described to obliterate the depression between the lid and cheek through a transconjuctival approach, I believe that a lower lid in need of big time "rehab" is better served by an open approach. The ability to tighten and suspend the muscle is the one main advantage. Younger patients and those with bags associated with allergies are the patients that I recommend the transconjuctival approach