Too Much Fat Removed. Is There Something I Can Do to Look Normal Again? (photo)

Question

The dr, took too much fat around the eyes. He even changed the shape of the eye. Is there fat that can be put back into the surrounding eye, it was removed very close to the eye ball and all over the eye area making me look twice as old as I am. It is very depressing. He tried to inject my own fat around the eye but it looked weird, like a tunnel under the eye and it went away quickly. I need help I feel like a freak.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

The upper eyelid sulcus is hollow due to removal of both fat and skin. Fillers can be used to soften the harsh appearance up there. For the lower eyelid, fat grafting lacks the needed accuracy. Restylane is much better. The rub is that you are being sculpted. Treatment is very fussy-this is an art form. Ideally you find someone fantastic close to home who is easy to see for adjustments. While this is not a cure for the issue, it can last over a year and seems to be a practical way of managing these types of issues.

Nelson Lee Novick, MD · Answer

Whether related to previous eyelid surgery with overagressive removal of fat or whether occuring naturally or due to aging, fat loss in the upper eyelid region can be a distressing cosmetic problem that leaves the individual looking cadaverous or skeletonous. Until relatively recently, I was using Juvederm Ultraplus XC for dealing with this problem and restoring the volume loss or depletion. More recently I have switched to the use of Belotero Balance, since this product is not associated with the risk of a bluish discoloration of the skin when placed in the thin skin of this area from the light scattering effect known as the Tyndall Effect. The entire procedure takes only a few minutes to perform and the results are immediate and quite gratifying. One additional benefit is that these results may even be reversed with hyaluronidase, should the need arise. .

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Fat grafting done in very precise fashion and filler such as Restylane are the two most common methods employed to improve volume in the periorbital region after aggressive fat resection. Both can be used effectively. Restylane allows for more precise injection but must be repeated every year. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

There is no wrong or right amount of volume in the tissues around orbit. Any deficiency that is problematic for you can probably be improved with fillers. They are benign for the most part the direct be repeated. I would avoid any further surgery.

Brent Moelleken, MD · Answer

If a patient had a blepharoplasty done in the 1980's or 1990's, chances are both excessive fat removal and a change in eye shape occurred.

	We now are much more conservative with eyelid fat, and have cheek elevation (cheek lift) techniques, some of which were pioneered here.

	The cheek lift enables the doctor to tighten the lower eyelid skin without altering eyelid shape.

	If patients have had a previous blepharoplasty, often a cheek lift procedure done at a suborbicularis level can restore an almond shape to the eye.  The suborbicularis cheek lift is not, however, for severe cases of ectropion or multiple failed lower eyelid surgeries; it simply isn't powerful enough, and reconstructive procedure with longer incisions are then necessary.

	We no longer perform conventional blepharoplasty that we were all taught in residency.  On any patient.  That's how much the field of lower eyelid surgery has changed.

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

If you feel the eyes were over treated then sometimes fillers can soften the appearance. It is best to be seen in person and perhaps have preo-op original photos to compare it to.

Paul S. Howard, MD · Answer

Robin, your question is the most difficult to answer as you clearly feel you have a problem but the photos provided do not adequately document the issue. To provide general information regarding blepharoplasty you should know that fat removal is a bit of a controversial topic in that we generally remove little or no fat these days in blepharoplasty. This is true for both upper and lower lids. If too much fat is removed, one does get a "hollowed out" look that ages the eyes and is very hard to correct: especially the upper lids. The corrective surgery usually includes fat repositioning as well as fat grafts that uniformly "take" if done correctly. Your problem, although not well documented in your photos, is correctable. You need a real Plastic Surgeon with experience in fat grafting and secondary eyelid surgery.

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