A Short Scenario: It’s Monday morning, and Lisa, a forty-ish office manager, feels energetic and wonderful. The week-end had been quiet with tons of rest and recreation for her, and she is confident about her work-week.
However, when she enters her office, her secretary rushes solicitously to get her coffee. Later, in the break room, she is teased for partying all week-end.
Nothing she can say will convince her co-workers she had a calm week-end. That afternoon, her best friend creeps quietly into her office, shuts the door, and asks in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong? I can tell something is worrying you.”
In the lady’s room mirror, Lisa peers at her face. Like many women in their early forties, Lisa’s eyelids are starting to sag and droop. This gives her the appearance that she has missed rest or is worried, even sad.
Lisa has tired of friends and co-workers misreading her because of her droopy lids. She wants to look as confident and vital as she feels. Fortunately, cosmetic surgery has an answer: Blepharoplasty.
Drooping eyelids are part of the normal process of aging. The folded, droopy flesh can even feel heavy. The upper eyelid folds can catch on your eyelashes.
What Happens To Eyelid Skin?
1. Time Marches On: As we age, the delicate, thin skin of the eyelids loses elasticity.
2. First of all, you should know this is normal for the aging process, but that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate it. You can address it with a surgical procedure. Continue reading to see how your cosmetic surgeon can help.
3. When age begins to show, it is because the muscles beneath the skin grow weak and let fat protrude through, causing those folds of skin commonly referred to as “bags.”
4. “The levator muscle, which lifts the upper eyelids, can become weak, causing the upper eyelid to droop.”
5. At the same time that eyelid bags are puffing and forming, you can have fine wrinkle lines and creases damaging this tender area of the face. Now you know why Lisa’s friends misread her appearance as sleepy, tired and worried.
6. It’s Not Your Fault: Heredity rules supreme in the aging of this fragile area of the face. “Aging around the eyes is to a large extent determined by heredity. Chances are, if a parent had saggy eyelids, you will, too.”
Blepharoplasty is a procedure in which droopy upper eyelids and lower eyelid bags are corrected by simply removing the extra fat, skin and muscle.
With The Surgical Procedure of Blepharoplasty:
• Your surgeon removes fatty deposits that puff up the upper eyelids.
• Likewise he snips away the loose, saggy skin that folds into the upper eyelid. It is this skin that destroys the beauty of the natural contour of the upper eyelid, and sometimes even obstructs your vision.
How Do You Know It’s Right for You?
Lisa knows that nothing is going to give her back the elasticity of her 20’s, but she wants to look more rested and less anxious. Like her, good candidates for this have certain requirements:
A. You should have “healthy facial tissue and muscles.”
B. You should not smoke.
C. You should not have other life-threatening illnesses that make it difficult for skin to heal. You should have a positive outlook, but realistic goals for the blepharoplasty.
D. Additionally, it should be said that “the best candidates for eyelid surgery are those with no known ophthalmic conditions such as glaucoma, detached retina, etc.”
It all begins with a consultation about whether or not blepharoplasty is the right choice for you. “Be sure to discuss your options with a doctor to learn if you are an ideal candidate for eyelid surgery.”
Keep in mind that blepharoplasty is not always enough to stop the sagging skin over the eyes. 
Often times, patients elect to also have a forehead lift at the same time. There is no way to predict this until you discuss your case with a plastic surgeon, and he examines the tissue, texture, and structure of your face.
What to Expect
After the procedure, you will resume your normal life activities in 7-10 days, maybe less. Initially, you might experience: post surgical “swelling, bruising, irritation or dry eyes and discomfort.” All of these symptoms can be “controlled with medication, cold compresses and ointment.”
As we have advised you before, we hope you will select your plastic surgeon with the utmost care. You can read more about blepharoplasty in one of our previous Orlando Cosmetic Surgery blog articles.
Choose an experienced, qualified plastic surgeon who is an ASPS member, like Dr. Orlando Cicilioni. This qualification validates their certification by The American Board of Plastic Surgery.
