Do I choose a plastic surgeon or oculoplastic surgeon for eyelid surgery?

Yours is a valid and common question.  Dr. Weber's answer below makes a great point about inter-specialty rivalries based mainly on ego and economics.  Choosing your surgeon based purely on his specialty is a good place to start, but too limited an approach. Blepharoplasty is performed by many specialties. It is the most commonly performed facial plastic surgical procedure.   Yet within each specialty, there can be a spectrum of abilities and outcomes.  To select your surgeon, it is is a good idea to know their field of training.  But other factors to consider are:*Years of experience.*Photos of numerous actual patients.*Conversations with other patients in person or by phone.*Talks with staff members have had the procedure (it is hard to imagine an office where at least one staff    member has not had the procedure)*Does the physician address all factors involved in your aging eyelid (extra skin, bulging fat, sagging brow position, sun induced wrinkling, cheek volume loss, frown muscle hyperactivity, crows feet) and spend time helping you understand the influence of each of these factors)Though I am a facial plastic surgeon and am very confident of my blepharoplasty outcomes, I do refer to selected to (not just any!) an oculoplastic colleague when there is a significant issue with vision such as severe dry eye, glaucoma, severe preexisting lower lid sagging and laxity, etc.

This is a great question. Facial Plastic Surgeons, Plastic Surgeons, Oculoplastic Surgeons all perform blepharoplasty. Many in our fields will also claim that "you should only consult with a ___ surgeon for this procedure." This is usually self-serving a reflects a bias that only a member of a certain subspecialty academy should perform certain procedures. The fact is that most members of the above three specialties will perform good blepharoplasty surgery if that is a focus of their practice. If you consult with a Surgeon from one of these three disciplines and they focus on the eyes and they create great results you are likely in very good hands. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

Oculoplastics surgeons are ophthalmologists with special extensive additional training in performing plastic surgery around the eyes. That is what they focus on in the practice.  There are always exceptions but general plastic surgeons operate on the whole body, rather than focus on the eyes. 

Oculoplastic surgeons are also board certified ophthalmologists.  This mean they have the training, skills, and experience to actually examine your eyes to determine if there are health issues related to the eyes that need to be managed or make it advisable not to have surgery.  Now having said that, in a given community, you need to look past the credentials and really look at what individual surgeons are doing in your community.  If the oculoplastic surgeon in town only does functional reconstructive surgery and basically very little aesthetic eyelid surgery but the general plastic surgeon and the facial plastic surgeon do the bulk of the cosmetic eyelid surgery, then the choice is straight forward.  Do your home work and find a surgeon who makes sense to you.

Plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and ideally members of the American Society for Aesthetic plastic Surgery, facial plastic surgeons, and oculoplastic surgeons are all trained and qualified to perform eyelid surgery.Find a plastic surgeon that you are
comfortable with and one that you trust and listen to his or her advice.
You should discuss your concerns with that surgeon in person.Robert Singer, MD FACSLa Jolla, California