By Eric Cole, MD
An Eyelid Lift is a small surgical procedure that could change your life. They say that eyes are windows to the soul, but what about your eyelids? Your eyelids are the key to opening that door. Eyelids can say so much more about you at first glance than any other part of your body. They definitely give away your age, how much stress you’re under, and overall, your personality type. An Eyelid Lift can help change all of this, especially your confidence. There are many reasons you should consider getting an Eyelid Lift.
Conceal Your Age and Reduce Your Baggage
When the skin around our eyes wrinkles, sags, and weakens, we look a lot older than we feel or actually are. Bags under our eyes show off our lack of sleep and stress levels to the rest of the world, but eventually become part of our face permanently. The reason for this is fatty tissues grow gradually underneath layers beneath the ocular (eye) muscle as we age, due to the thinning of superficial tissues under the skin. As those tissues weaken, fatty deposits eventually occupy the space left over.
The upper and lower lids undergo different processes. For the upper lid lift, a small incision is made within the crease of the eyelid, upper lid, then through the superficial fascia and into the ocular muscle. The incision is hidden in a natural crease of the eyelid.
The lower eyelid blepharoplasty is performed by making the incision on the inside of the eyelid. From here, the fat causing the bags below the eyes is removed. Excess skin is tightened with a laser treatment that tightens up this skin and smoothes out any fine lines and wrinkles in the eye area. The technique we use means you don’t have any visible scars and no sutures to remove.
Under all of these layers lies the excess fatty tissue that is cut away, reducing the puffiness or droop of the eyelids. The excess skin here in the eyelids is then removed and tightened, all stitched up with either absorbing or removable sutures. This procedure will transform your eyes, making you look younger in the process.
Maximize Your Vision
Much of the puffiness that occurs under the eyes is unpleasant, but dropping eyelids are even worse. The drooping of the upper eyelid is not only unpleasant to look at, but also blocks your range of vision. Many patients experience minimized visual range over time, which makes many activities difficult to perform, therefore affecting the quality of life.
Our eyes should allow us to experience the world, not close it off from us. Removing the excess tissue from around the eyes can increase your range of vision, increasing your ability in performing normal tasks. A small surgery like the Eyelid Lift can change your life and is one of the main reasons we recommend this minimal cosmetic surgery.
Reduce Dryness
Often with the puffing of the lower lid comes drooping of the skin. Drooping skin happens over time and with an increase in age. Older people generally require this surgery to remedy the drooping of the lower eyelid. The lower eyelid often exposes the whites of the eyes more so than they are intended to be around the iris. The exposure of the whites around the eyes exposes the eye to losing moisture, causing irritation and producing redness, which makes you look tired or sleepy.
The eyes are also one of the main points of permeability (absorbing points) when it comes to contracting infection. The open space of the eye could become more susceptible to these infections if they are dryer than usual. Natural lubrication of the eye is essential as one of the body’s first immune system defenses to avoiding bacterial infections in the air or on our hands from constant rubbing. The Eyelid Lift surgery will help keep you healthier all around.
Change Your Look
An Eyelid Lift can have vast effects on all aspects of your life, not just on the surface but inside as well. Once your eye shape is modified with this minimal surgery, your face shape will change completely, and this offers a boost in confidence. Before an Eyelid Lift, the drooping eyelids change the way people perceive you.
Drooping eyelids make you look angry, sleepy, and unapproachable. Within a week or so of the surgery, you will notice the difference in the way the people around you will respond to you. After an Eyelid Lift you’ll give off an aura of confidence that will radiate to others around you.
What to Consider After…
Many of the Eyelid Lift surgeries are accompanied by a facelift, forehead lift, or neck lift to help make the skin all around your face frame the youthful look of your eyes. Start small and support the work that you’ve begun to maximize the effect. Taking care of your eyes is the first step toward your overall health.
The Eyelid Lift surgery can take up to a couple of hours to complete. Swelling or slight pain around the incisions is expected, but will take 7 to 12 days to heal. Once all swelling has gone down, you won’t believe the changes you’ll see.
Eric Cole, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Cole Aesthetic Center, who has been practicing in Kitsap County since 1999. He is an expert in today’s most advanced and state-of-the art techniques in facial enhancement and rejuvenation, including laser-assisted and small incision procedures.
