I have big bulging/protruding eyes, what surgery do I need? I have old and new pictures. (photos)

Question

I have really poor eyesight and wear -10.00 contact lenses in both eyes. When I were glasses I require higher prescription. My eyesight got gradually worse every year since primary school so I always had to wear glasses. I'm not 100% but I have a feeling I may have had thyroid eye disease and it was left untreated and maybe that's why my eyesight has got worse and I have eyes like this? I have old pictures of me like baby pictures and my eyes looked normal.Please help. I get called a frog etc.

Bradford W. Lee, MD, MSc · Answer

You have high myopia, so your actual eyeballs have an elongated axial diameter.  This alone could explain the prominence or "bulginess" of the eyes.However, I would also recommend that you have your thyroid labs tested.  Thyroid Eye Disease is a dynamic process that will cause swelling of the eye socket and progressive bulging of the eyes.  If your thyroid labs are normal and your eyes have not been progressively bulging since your eye prescription stabilized, then it is unlikely that the bulging is from thyroid eye disease.To truly reduce the prominence and protrusion of the eyes, the treatment is an orbital decompression.  I would recommend a lateral wall decompression with fat removal, and this would be less likely to cause any double vision.  Some oculoplastic surgeons rarely do this operation and may not have much experience performing it--if you read about it, complications can including meningitis, blindness, or double vision.  However, if you find a high-volume orbital surgeon who does these operations on a routine basis and is well trained, the lateral wall decompression is a safe and effective operation in the right hands.Non-surgically, you could apply fillers to the beneath the lower lids to try to mask the prominence by building up the surrounding tissues around the eyes, but this will not yield a "home-run" type of outcome and would be more of a very mild incremental improvement.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

Your principle problem here is upper eyelid ptosis with a profound anterior elevator dehiscence.  Repairing this issue will brighten the eyes and help restore the jewel like quality.  Try to avoid more surgery in your life than you need.

Mehryar (Ray) Taban, MD, FACS · Answer

You likely have large myopic eyeballs, which make it look bulging. The bulging appearance is a cosmetic issue, and you may be a candidate for orbital decompression surgery. See link below. This procedure will not change the vision so your high myopia will remain.

I have big bulging/protruding eyes, what surgery do I need? I have old and new pictures. (photos)

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I have big bulging/protruding eyes, what surgery do I need? I have old and new pictures. (photos)

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