Why do my eyes have that fold of skin at outer corners? What would fix it? (photos)

from your photos you have a high forehead and a forehead lift would help you with the outer hanging upper eyelid skin. excess skin in upper eyelids could be due to ptosis of the brow.

There are several procedures that can improve your upper eyelid area including upper blepharoplasty, upper eyelid filler injection, and lateral brow lift. Best to have personal consultation to determine what is best for you. See an expert oculoplastic surgeon.

You have what is called "lateral hooding" and a combination of a temporal brow lift and upper eyelid surgery (upper blepharoplasty) would be of benefit. I recommend you see a board-certified plastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon, or oculoplastic surgeon for a consultation. Best wishes,Thomas Walker, MD, FACS

Thank you for your question and photos. It is hard to tell by photo, but it appears that you have some extra skin folding over and creating that line. Patients with extra skin often have great results with an upper lid blepharoplasty. I recommend seeing an oculoplastic surgeon to be evaluated in person and talk about all your options. Hope this helps!
Dan Landmann, MD, MSEE

You are the perfect candidate for upper blepharoplasty surgery.  As we age our outer brow starts to droop causing excess skin to hang on the upper lids.  Surgery to remove the excess skin can be done in the office.  While some would recommend a browlift surgery, the down sides are that it is a larger procedure that doesn’t last and can lead to a surprised deer in the headlight look. You would absolutely love the results of eyelid surgery and I wish you the best of luck!

The fold of skin at the outer corners of your eyelids occurs because of aging process of the eyelids themselves. An upper eyelid blepharoplasty can accomplish improvement of this area. This procedure is called an upper blepharoplasty, and can be performed under local anesthesia as an outpatient procedure.

Your photos demonstrate excess skin, but as you say, mostly on the outer aspect of your eyelid. This appearance can be improved with a blepharoplasty, where the skin is removed. It will leave a scar that is in the crease unnoticeable when the eye is open in almost all cases.

Thank you for your picture and question. I do see the outer corner upper eyelid skin that you are noticing. This could likely be repaired with a thoughtful upper eyelid blepharoplasty. Another option would be to consider a lateral temporal brow lift. An in person consultation with an an oculoplastic surgeon would be the best Next Step. Best of luck!

Excessive or 'redundant' upper eyelid skin is a very typical change that some patients have genetically while in others it develops with aging. The phenomenon of the skin hanging over the eyelid crease (known as hooding) gives the appearance of having too much fullness of the upper eyelids.Fullness of the upper lids can be cosmetically improved with a number of surgical options depending on individual anatomy, the cause of the fullness, and desired outcome: an artistically performed conservative upper lid blepharoplasty, a repositioning of the lateral brow if it is low, or often a combination of both.

There is no one best option. It depends on your desired outcome and understanding of the pros and cons of the various procedures.

It is important to realize that following the advice from a surgeon on this or any other website who proposes to tell you exactly what to do based on limited  photos without examining you, physically feeling the tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a full medical history, and discussing the pros and cons of each operative procedure would not be in your best interest. I would suggest you find a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and ideally a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) that you trust and are comfortable with. You should discuss your concerns with that surgeon in person.

Facial rejuvenation needs to be individualized. What would be an ideal approach for one patient is not necessarily the same for someone else. Based on the examination and discussion at the consultation, you should have a better understanding of the various options that can achieve the best cosmetic result for you. 

Robert Singer, MD FACS

La Jolla, California