My Eyes Seem Too Small for my Head. Is It Possible to Fix This with Surgery?

Question

Hello, I have always had smaller Asian like eyes my entire life. It has always bothered me because to be honest I have a larger head so it to me looks strange and has always made me shy away from having my picture taken. I lack in the nose department as well so I am wondering if that could be the problem as to why my eyes look closed in so much? Is it possible to fix this and if so what would be a good estimate for the surgery as well as recovery time. Thanks for your time.

George Marosan, MD · Answer

Thanks for the photos. Without doing any measurement, you appear to have a long face. This makes the eyes seem a little higher than they should be. Ther's nothing wrong with your lids or eyes. I would avoid surgery especially a brow lift. Brow lift in a man tends to feminize the face. I'm sure you would not be in any pictures after surgery. Although you don't show a lateral view, I think that your nasal bridge is low and this gives the illusion that your eyes are far apart.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

I see nothing wrong with the size of your eyes.  Your eyebrows are a bit heavy.  Should you get a forehead lift to address this?  You are twentish with a receeding hairline.  The forehead lift will put unsightly scars on your face.  Upper eyelid surgery alone will actually make your eyebrow ptosis worse.  Microdroplet BOTOX will create a lift along the brow without surgery but only lasts 4-6 months.

	What to do?  Well I think before a surgeon tries to corral you into surgery, then need to explore your need to have surgery.  What do you see.  What does it mean for you?  Many guys with your basic issues would not even give their face a second thought.  So why do these issues bother you.  I would explore the possibility that you might have some form of body dysmorphic dysorder.  If this were the case, it may not mean that you are not a candidate for surgery.  What it means though is that you and your potential surgeon is very likely going misunderstand your actual concerns.

Hugh McLean, MD · Answer

Hi. In fact, your eyes are of normal size. What you are seeing is the heavy eyelids that make the eyes seem smaller. An upper blepharoplasty, reshaping the upper lid area to give you a more visible lid would help give the illusion of larger eyes.

Edwin Ishoo, MD · Answer

The soft tissue around your eyes and the position of your brow as well as the height of your forehead and full cheecks and prominent chin may give the appearance of disproportinately small eyes. I would suggest you try small, minimally invasive or non-invasive options first to see if you can achieve incremental improvement and possibly titrate the effect to where you see appreciable improvement. You can do that by elevating your brows with Botox or Dysport injections which can also be used in Crows feet region to open up the eyes. You can use soft tissue fillers such as Juvedern to also elevate your brows as you have heavy upper eyelid skin that give the appearance of smaller eyes.  Radiofrequency skin tightening of the periorbital skin with Thermage is another non-invasive, temporary option. Of course surgical brow lift and Blepharoplasty will open your eues more but they are permenant and may slightly femanize your face. Facial aesthetics is all about proportion. If the nose looks big, it may be that the chin is too small, if the eyes look small, it may be that the forehead or cheecks are too large. Sometimes to achieve improvement in one area, you really need the adress the relationship and proportion of the surrounding structures. I suggest individuals seek a full facial aesthetic consultation as opposed to a specific procedure.

George Commons, MD (retired) · Answer

YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES IF YOU WISH WITH A UPPER EYELID LIFT AND POSSIBLE A FOREHEAD LIFT.  THE EYELID SURGERY ALONE WILL DO A LOT.  GIVE IT A TRY.  IT WILL WORK!   LATER IF YOU DESIRE MORE YOU CAN DO THE BROW LIFT..  YOUR EYELIDS ARE CONGENITALLY HEAVY AND YOUR BROW IS LOW.  BOTH CAN BE CORRECTED.   DR GEORGE COMMONS

My Eyes Seem Too Small for my Head. Is It Possible to Fix This with Surgery?

Answers (5)

Answer: Small Eyes

Answer: Small Eyes

Answer: Open up EYES with upper lid blepharoplasty and forhead lift

Answer: Open up EYES with upper lid blepharoplasty and forhead lift

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Everything you need to know about Eyelid Surgery

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My Eyes Seem Too Small for my Head. Is It Possible to Fix This with Surgery?

Answers (5)

Answer: Small Eyes

Answer: Small Eyes

Answer: Open up EYES with upper lid blepharoplasty and forhead lift

Answer: Open up EYES with upper lid blepharoplasty and forhead lift

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Eyelid Surgery

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.