Restoring Youth To Your Eyes
Our eyes are the focus of our face. As we age our eyebrows droop, our eyelids wrinkle and fall, and we develop “bags” and dark circles under our eyes. These changes result in an undesirably tired, aged and sad look. Fortunately, advances in medicine and cosmetic surgery can now reverse much of this aged look with little to no down time, with nominal discomfort, without scars, without the need for general anesthesia and with minimal risk. In this article, I will discuss the options available to rejuvenate your eyes.
What makes us look aged?
The sagging of the eyebrows, upper eyelids are from a combination of the natural aging process and our lifestyle. As we age, the fat in our face starts to shrink and reduce in volume. The skin then starts to sag and the eyebrows droop, pushing down on the upper eyelids. This gives the hooding effect on the eyes. The fat under the eyes also deflates and the veins become visible through the thin skin giving us the appearance of dark circles. The fat that supports the eyeball may also become visible and appear to bulge. In some people the fat does actually bulge out but in many it is mainly the effect of surrounding fat being depleted.
The combination of drooping, hollowness, and bulging around our eyes gives us a tired and aged appearance.
Reversing Fat Deflation
The most natural and logical way to correct the undesired effects of volume loss due to fat shrinkage and deflation is to replace the volume with what was there before-Fat. Under local anesthesia, the fat can be taken from one part of our body (abdomen, thighs, knees) and injected into other areas (face, hands, calves, buttocks) to sculpt the area and to fill it and restore volume. The fat is injected to the eyebrow and lower eye area. The fat becomes part of the living tissues and stays permanently. The eyes are rejuvenated and look natural. The bags under the eyes disappear and the dark circles improve greatly.
Raising The Eyebrow
Sometimes the upper eyelid seems to have drooped, but what has actually happened is that the eyebrows have sagged and are pushing on the upper eyelid skin. Here the eyebrow must be raised back up to a more natural position. In this case, removing the eyelid skin can cause the eyebrow to droop more and have undesirable consequences. If the fat is not an option to correct the eyebrow droop, then thread lift may be a good choice to correct the problem. Under local anesthesia, special threads are placed under the skin with a needle that raise the eyebrow and the upper eyelid skin to a more desired position on the forehead. Once the threads have been placed, your body’s collagen fibers form a glue-like support over a 3-month period that holds the eyebrows in their new position. The results can last for many years and if more lifting is needed, it is possible to place more threads.
The alternative is a forehead lift, which is costlier, is done under anesthesia, has a longer healing time and carries more risk. The long-term results may be similar to the thread lift for appropriate candidates.
Advances in Blepharoplasty
Blepharoplasty is the eyelid surgery done to get rid of the excess skin on the upper eyelids and to remove the bags under the eyes. The excess skin and fat is removed from the upper eyelid and the scar is hidden in the natural fold of the upper eyelid. The amount of fat removed is to provide natural look and not a hollow, sunken or pulled look, as was done in the past. The lower eyelid fat is reached from inside the eyelid, leaving no visible scar on the face. Today, the fat is not removed but rather repositioned to fill the hollowed area under the eye. This gives you a more youthful appearance and reduces the dark circles under the eyes.
Skin Tightening
The Titan laser may reverse some of the skin sagging by use of advanced infrared light technology. The Titan treatment causes new collagen deposition, which tightens and rejuvenates the skin without injections, or downtime.
Wrinkle Removers
The “crow’s feet” lines to the sides of the eyes and the lines under the eyes can be reduced dramatically using a combination of treatments. Botox injections can be used to reduce the movement of muscles of facial expression, which cause the creases and wrinkles on the face. Botox is most effective if done on a consistent basis over a period of 1 to 2 years.
The deep creases can be filled with non-permanent injectable filling materials such as Captique, Restylane and Cosmoderm.
A good eye cream and sunblock should be part of an anti-aging skin regimen.
Which procedure is the best for me?
In order to achieve the most natural, long-lasting, safest and most cost effective desirable results you should have a face-to-face consultation with your cosmetic surgeon. Be aware that not all surgeons have the same expertise on all procedures. Make sure that what YOU desire is understood by your surgeon and is appropriate for you.
