Do my eyes continue to look droopy after the orbital decompression surgery and mid-face lift that I had done? (Photo)

It appears as though you have some recurrence of the downward malposition of your lower lids. This can be addressed with a lower lid tightening procedure. As well, your upper lids have a slight degree of ptosis or drooping and as well may benefit from a lid margin reshaping. This can be addressed with a ptosis repair procedure by a very skilled oculoplastic surgeon who is comfortable with the very nuanced and meticulous maneuvers needed to lift the upper eyelid and at the same time reshape it. The key here is visiting with someone who specializes in eyelid surgery and who has done hundreds, if not thousands of these procedures. In California you should have no trouble finding such a provider.Best of luck!Dr. SubbioBoard-Certified Plastic SurgeonNewtown Square/Philadelphia, PA

Thank you for your question. I understand that you underwent orbital decompression in 2008 and a mid-facelift in 2011, and now you’re concerned about your eyes looking droopy. You’d like to know if a brow lift would be of any benefit or if you should also consider an eyelid lift.To give you a bit of info about myself — I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. I’ve had significant experience with orbital decompression and thyroid eye disease as it is a large part of my practice, so I can certainly assist you with your concern.Looking at the photos you submitted, it’s clear to me that the decompression and mid-facelifting surgery has been very successful for you overall. Your eyes are at a good position, and considering your history, I’m impressed that the left upper eyelid did not require any additional surgery beyond the decompression.You feel that if your brows are elevated more via a brow lift, that your upper eyelids will look more open. This is a common thought among patients, but from my own perspective, I think your eyebrows are already at a good place and I don’t think a brow lifting procedure would be of benefit to you.With regard to the upper eyelid position, based on your photos, it does seem like the upper eyelids are a little bit low relative to the pupil. In the absence of a full and proper examination, I can say that it is not unusual for someone who had surgery for thyroid eye disease to go from eyelid retraction to ptosis. I suggest that you discuss this with the original surgeon who did your orbital decompression surgery, as they would be most familiar with your anatomy. Discuss your options in lifting the eyelids and get an understanding of the reasons and pros and cons.Before surgery, I always tell my patients in cases wherein I wasn’t the original surgeon, that we need to have a plan A and a plan B, because a lot relies on what kind of anatomy I will encounter once I’m already doing the surgery.I would suspect that your doctor may be concerned about the predictability of the lifting of the eyelid. When you have ptosis surgery or an eyelid retraction surgery, the eyelid can always be too open or too low — that’s just the reality of doing this type of surgery. In such cases, you’ll need additional surgery. However, if you have an attainable ideal in mind, then it is worth discussing and considering ptosis surgery for, even though you once had eyelid retraction. I hope that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!This personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf and on YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube, please contact us.

I would suggest you see an experienced oculoplastic surgeon, given that you may need revision surgery on your upper and or lower lids.