I have droopy eyes. What can I do about them?
Q. My eyes are droopy and I cannot tell if I need a forehead lift or an upper eyelid operation. Can you give me some insight?
A. Upper lid sagging can be caused by several factors. The forehead may be sagging, so your lids appear droopy. Your lids may be droopy and in need of a direct repair. In addition, you may have a condition called ptosis, where the upper lid is droopy because of a weakness in the muscle that opens the eye and therefore covers some of your iris.
Discuss these three possibilities when talking to your surgeon.
When evaluating patients, I like to see old pictures of my patients. If I’m going to operate on a patient, I don’t want to give them a weird anatomy that they never had before.
In my 35 years of doing eye surgery, it is rare that a patient needs both a forehead lift and an upper eyelid surgery together.
If the eyebrows are hanging over, it’s likely the patient will need some type of repositioning of the eyebrows. That can come in the form of a forehead lift, or a direct brow lift.
Another method is using small clips to elevate the eyebrow. An upper-eyelid blepharoplasty is performed by removing skin, muscle, and a small amount of fat, which makes you look more alive.
It is critical you choose a facial plastic surgeon, oculoplastic surgeon, or plastic surgeon who specializes in eye surgery. Don’t be shy to ask what are the risks and complications of the procedure, to see before and after pictures and ask how often the surgeon performs this procedure.
Dr. Carlos Wolf is a partner in Miami Plastic Surgery and is board certified. Email questions to him at Cwolf@miamiplasticsurgery.com
