Fat Grafting Behind Eyeballs to Lessen Hollowing?

Question

Can fat grafting be done behind the eye to give a more protruding look of the eyeball, and create a less hollow or sunken look?

Brent Moelleken, MD · Answer

A hollow appearance can result when the eyes are deep set.  This results from a relatlively large orbital socket vs. the volume inside it.
In traumatic cases, the volume can be enhanced with placement of tissue inside the orbital socket, to allow the globe to sit more forward.  In thyroid patients when the eye is overly prominent, the opposite can be done.
These procedures all have very significant risk of injury to the optic nerve, the only nerve that goes to the eye. Disruption through bleeding will cause blindness.
Needless to say, this is not a common cosmetic procedure for this reason.  Unless the deformity is severe (i.e. from an accident), and the surgeon performing the work is a craniofacial surgeon, it is not recommended.

Steven H. Williams, MD · Answer

Thanks for the question.
Eyes that are sunken in the the orbits can be described as enopthalmos.The anterior projection of the eye is usually measured relative to the outer edge of the orbit, the orbital rim, but can also be assessed relative to the maxillary prominences, or the contralateral eye.
There are congenital causes of enopthalmos but the most common reason is from trauma (orbital blow out fractures).
Fat grafting is not a technique that is typically used. For patients that have significant orbital volume the orbit itself can be reshaped by cutting the bones that comprise the orbit or layering additional bone or titanium plates to decrease the volume. These are serious operations with the rare risks including blindness or impairment of the movement of occular muscles. Again, usually, patients needing these treatments have experienced facial trauma or have congenital facial bone defects.
You should see a board certified plastic surgeon for a complete evaluation.
I hope this helps.

D.J. Verret, MD · Answer

Injecting fat into the eye socket to correct a retruded eye or enophthalmos is not a good idea. As noted, this can be due to many conditions and may be your natural appearance. A better approach is to either correct the underlying abnormality or prop up the eye with an orbital implant. For purely cosmetic reasons, these surgeries should be avoided as they can have serious side effects including vision loss.

Robert M. Freund, MD · Answer

If you look hollow or sunken, then fill the hollow or sunken area, do not push the eyeball out any further. More importantly, adding fat behind the eye is extremely dangerous and undesirable for a cosmetic procedure.

Pat Pazmino, MD, FACS · Answer

Fat grafting is an extremely effective and powerful technique to recontour the area around the eyes. Fat may be safely ejected around the sides of the eyes and in both the upper and lower eyelids. This may be sufficient to give your eyes a fuller appearance area however, fat should never be injected behind the eyeballs because this area carries extreme risk of damage to the optic nerve and result in blindness. When considering such procedure, it is essential that you work with a board-certified plastic surgeon who is a great deal of experience not only with fat grafting but with blepharoplasty and brow lift procedures. Such a surgeon will be most qualified to explain what combination of search is you need to obtain the result you want.

Fat Grafting Behind Eyeballs to Lessen Hollowing?

Answers (10)

Answer: Fat Grafting to the extreme!

Answer: Fat Grafting to the extreme!

Answer: Fat grafting should not be done behind the eyeballs

Answer: Fat grafting should not be done behind the eyeballs

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Facial Fat Transfer

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

Fat Grafting Behind Eyeballs to Lessen Hollowing?

Answers (10)

Answer: Fat Grafting to the extreme!

Answer: Fat Grafting to the extreme!

Answer: Fat grafting should not be done behind the eyeballs

Answer: Fat grafting should not be done behind the eyeballs

Browse related questions

Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Facial Fat Transfer

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