Are these grooves on my face festoons or eyebags? Can I get rid of them with surgery or filler? (photos)

Question

They are very noticeable when I’m smiling.

Cameron Chesnut, MD, FAAD, FACMS · Answer

It appears that you have both festoons and lower eyelid bags. It is important to properly diagnose and differentiate these two conditions, as treatment for them is very different. Lower eyelid bags can be treated very beautifully with surgery, but treating festoons, or malar mounds, requires a different approach. If a surgeon does not recognize the festoons and attempts to treat lower bags alone, it can lead to dissatisfaction and exacerbation of the remaining problem.
To ensure you are receiving the highest level of care, seek out a modernly trained, new-school dermatologic surgeon, oculoplastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon who is board certified and fellowship trained in one of these “core four” cosmetic specialties. Membership in organizations like the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery help to identify a highly trained surgeon.
Cameron Chesnut
#realself500 Physician

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Dark under eye circles can make you look tired and older than you are. I would use a combination protocol that includes topical Melarase creams first, followed by a combination of injectable fillers, fractional laser, and RF to blend out the eyelid hollowness and tighten the skin. 
Recommended Creams: Melarase Brightening Kit
MelaClenz
Melarase AM
Melarase PM
Melapads
Replenish Retinoid Cream
Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Adam Scheiner, MD · Answer

Dear   CCMommy,
  
It appears that you have evidence of fullness in the lower eyelid region and festoons/malar mounds on the cheek as well. These changes can make a person appear tired, sick and older even when they feel fine inside. 
  
Many people who undergo lower eyelid surgery to improve the appearance of their lower lids are dissatisfied afterwards because of one factor which can complicate the results from lower eyelid surgery.
Festoons and Malar mounds are a medical condition in which the skin of the lower eyelid becomes significantly damaged, usually by the sun. This damaged skin can result in folds in the lower eyelids and can lead to swollen mounds on the cheeks. They often occur with age and are more common in people with lighter skin types.
  
Festoons occur in many people seeking lower eyelid rejuvenation and if not corrected at the time that lower lid surgery is performed, the condition can become exacerbated and make the lower eyelids look worse after surgery.
  
The reason then why many people are dissatisfied after undergoing lower eyelid surgery to improve the appearance of their lower lids is the result of two main issues:
  
Swelling that occurs in the face after lower eyelid      surgery often accumulates in the lower eyelid region and can take a while      to resolve.
  The subconscious brain      constantly looks for balance in a face,      and when lower eyelid fullness and festoons exist they are seen to belong      together, as both are usually age-related phenomena. When only one is then      corrected (usually the lower eyelid bags), the other is seen in even      greater contrast.  The subconscious brain then focuses in on this      condition and tells the conscious brain the face is out of balance.
 Festoons and malar mounds have been a frustration for surgeons for many years. Thanks to the initial work of Dr. Sterling Baker (a person with whom I trained) and my own improvement and refinement on that work over the last decade, I now have a sophisticated, technically-challenging but effective treatment for festoons and malar mounds.
  
Many people don’t fully understand or recognize the differences between these two conditions. The first difference is in their cause or etiology; festoons are a result of sun-damaged skin on the lower eyelid and on the cheek and are believed to be affected by underlying contrasting muscle forces over the years of a person’s life.
  
In contrast, lower eyelid bags are due to age-related fat protruding through the skin in the lower eyelid region. New research has shown that fat can grow and atrophy during our lives in asymmetric ways. The growth of fat in the orbit around the eye along with atrophy of fat in the facial regions around the eye, as well as weakness in some of the orbital containing structures, contribute the fullness we see in the lower eyelid with age.
  
For some individuals, this fat shows up at a very young age and this is believed to a result of genetic changes in the development of the eye area in those individuals.
  
The second difference is the location on the face where they form. Lower eyelid festoons can be seen primarily on the cheek with some presence in the lower eyelid region.  Lower eyelid bags are located directly below the lower eyelid lashes and are noticed to become more prominent when someone with these bags looks upwards.  Conversely, festoons are minimally affected when a person looks upwards.
  
The third difference is the feel of these conditions when they are touched. Festoons are squishy and can be made to move side to side. Lower eyelid bags are firmer, deeper in location beneath the skin and can’t be moved easily side to side when touched.
  
 It is important to understand the differences between these two conditions. The best rejuvenation and most natural results occur when both eyelid bags and festoons are corrected simultaneously.
  
I'll include some links below.
  
I hope this was helpful.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

A combination approach will give the most improvement. Fillers, lasers, and microneedling/PRP can improve under the eyes. My patients try to get non surgical treatments to avoid surgery. We use PRP and stem cells there often. I suggest consulting with an expert to develop a treatment plan best suited for your short and long term goals. Best, Dr. Emer

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

Under eye bags can be permanently corrected with surgery or temporarily camouflaged with fillers (Restylane, Belotero, Volbella).There are great non-surgical options to fill in under eye depressions and hollowness. Using dermal fillers, a liquid eye-lift can be performed. A dermal filler such as Restylane would be placed in the cheek and tear trough to hide the depression or bag underneath your eye.
Surgery would require a fat-repositioning lower lid blepharoplasty. In this surgical procedure, fat from the eye area is moved into the tear trough depression filling the actual depression. 
I hope this helps!

Are these grooves on my face festoons or eyebags? Can I get rid of them with surgery or filler? (photos)

Answers (5)

Answer: Improving Under Eye with Fillers (Belotero, Volbella, Restylane Silk), Fraxel, Microneedling/PRP

Answer: Improving Under Eye with Fillers (Belotero, Volbella, Restylane Silk), Fraxel, Microneedling/PRP

Answer: Treating Eye Bags? Fillers or surgery

Answer: Treating Eye Bags? Fillers or surgery

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Are these grooves on my face festoons or eyebags? Can I get rid of them with surgery or filler? (photos)

Answers (5)

Answer: Improving Under Eye with Fillers (Belotero, Volbella, Restylane Silk), Fraxel, Microneedling/PRP

Answer: Improving Under Eye with Fillers (Belotero, Volbella, Restylane Silk), Fraxel, Microneedling/PRP

Answer: Treating Eye Bags? Fillers or surgery

Answer: Treating Eye Bags? Fillers or surgery

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