Can I Fix Asymmetrical Eyes?

Dear Eyequestion

As I look at your photos, I see several issues.

First, and this is easy enough to determine by looking at your eye glass prescription, it appears that your right eye is mildly near slighted and your left eye is mildly far sighted.  This arrangement will make you right eye look slightly smaller relative to your left eye because lens that correct for near slightedness have the optical effect of making the eye look smaller and lens that that correct for correct for far sightedness have the optical effect of making the eye look bigger.  The net effect influences how you perceive the relative size of the two eyes.

The next thing that I notice is that the right eye sits higher in your face than the left eye.  Occasionally this is due to a slight chronic head tilt but more often it is related to facial skeletal asymmetry.  These types of problems are generally left unaddressed unless severe.

FInally, your right upper eyelid is heavy or ptotic by 1 mm compared to the left side.  There is also an accompanying compensatory right eyebrow elevation.  

I think that an assessment by an oculoplastic surgeon would be appropriate.  A detailed consultation can help determine which of these issues is bothering you and how best to address them.  The American Society for Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) maintains an excellent geographic directory of ASOPRS members that will help you find someone in your area who is a fellow of this society.

There is no fix for asymmetrical eyeballs. There are some modifications that can be done to the blepharoplasty procedure to correct asymmetrical eyelids by doing asymmetrical surgery. Occasionally one eyelid is puffier than the other and excess fatty deposits are removed more on the puffy eyelid than the opposite eyelid. Occasionally the upper lids are asymmetrical and this can be brought more into symmetry by performing techniques such as differential fat removal, sometimes a strip of orbicularis muscle can be taken on the full side and more skin can be taken on the fuller side than the more hollow side.  

Your palpebral aperture (vertical distance between upper and lower eyelid margins) does appear asymmetric, but the exact nature of this asymmetry can only be determined by close examination and measurement.  The procedure(s) to correct depend on the cause(s) of your asymmetry.  See a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, or several in your area, to learn more.  Accurate restoration of symmetry is a delicate and complex procedure.