Blepharoplasty

Dr. Doumit is an internationally recognized leader in facial surgery. He has authored a few plastic surgery textbook chapters and articles on facial surgery. He has also been invited to give numerous lectures, panel lectures, and teaching courses in the U.S. and Europe. He currently chairs a major facial surgery course in the US biannually. Dr Doumit presented on aesthetic eyelid surgery at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Meeting in Orlando, in October 2017. It is a great honor that few surgeons will have the privilege to accomplish. Over his career, Dr Doumit performed between 1000 to 2000 eyelid surgeries. Our eyes are the windows into our souls. Loose skin, dark circles, droopy eyelids, or bags around the eyes are some of the changes that occur with aging. Age is often deduced from the appearance of our eyes. Sagging or puffy eyelids can give a tired, run-down impression. Cosmetic eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty, can dramatically improve the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both. Dr. Doumit employs several innovative techniques in his eyelid surgeries to restore youthful beauty, contour, and a refreshed look to the eyelids. Dr. Doumit has shared his eyelid rejuvenation techniques with plastic surgeons internationally. Dr. Doumit has also published a major article in a prestigious scientific journal on some of his techniques.

Before and After Photos

View More Photos

Ideal Candidate

The best candidates for eyelid surgery are adult men and women with realistic expectations, non-smokers, and who have healthy facial tissue. Cosmetic eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty, is used to reverse the effects of gravity and aging on the eyelids.

Blepharoplasty is ideal for the correction of:

Blepharoplasty cannot raise eyebrows or diminish the existence of crow’s feet, deep wrinkles, or dark pigmentation underneath the eyes. The combination of different procedures such as brow lifts, botulinum toxin cosmetic injection, and laser treatments can be done in conjunction with eyelid surgery to achieve the desired rejuvenation outcomes.

The first step in learning if you are a candidate for eyelid surgery is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Doumit. You should inform Dr. Doumit if you have any of the following medical conditions: Glaucoma, dry eye, detached retina, thyroid disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, and if you are on blood thinners.

Procedure

Eyelid surgery aims to make the eyes look youthful and better but not different. Dr. Doumit will discuss with you in detail the changes you would like to have made on your eyelid. Furthermore, Blepharoplasty can be performed as a single procedure, or with other facial surgery such as a brow lift or facelift to achieve optimal rejuvenation results. Blepharoplasty can also be performed with a Laser.

Upper Blepharoplasty

As upper eyelids age, the skin slowly loses its elasticity leading to sagging skin. The superficial muscular layer of the eyelids can also loosen causing bulging of the fat medially. Furthermore, the fat around the orbital rim can decrease in volume further worsening the appearance of aging.

The upper eyelid incisions are made on the natural skin crease of the upper eyelid. Upper eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) removes excess skin, muscle, and occasionally fat from the upper eyelid to give the patient a youthful contour and recreate the upper eyelid crease when absent. Occasionally, small amounts of fat can be injected along the orbital rim to further improve the shape of the eyelid. Dr. Doumit closes the incision with fine sutures. An entire upper eyelid surgery can be completed in approximately 45 minutes to one hour. It can be performed under local anesthetic.

Lower Blepharoplasty

In the lower eyelid, aging causes loosening of the lower eyelid skin, weakness in the underlying muscle, and bulging of the orbital fat. These aging changes lead to redundant skin, pigmentation changes, and puffiness (bags) under the eyes. Lower Eyelid surgery will remove excess skin and it will correct the puffy bags that develop in the lower eyelids with aging. If the primary problem is puffiness, lower blepharoplasty can then be performed through an incision that is hidden on the inside of the lower eyelid (transconjunctival), hence leaving no scar. If excess skin is present on the lower eyelid, a small incision is placed just below the eyelashes. If the lower eyelids are lax, Dr. Doumit will recommend tightening the lower eyelids (canthopexy or canthoplasty) in addition to removing redundant skin and/or fat.

Some patients have a tear trough deformity, a depression beneath bulging fat. Injectable fillers, fat injections, or fat repositioning during the lower eyelid surgery can correct the tear trough deformity.

Lower eyelid blepharoplasty usually takes about one hour to complete. Typically, local anesthesia is combined with conscious sedation (Twilight sleep).

Results

Healing for all eyelids surgeries are quick. The final results will appear within weeks. The results are long lasting and they rarely need to be repeated over a lifetime. The scars are almost imperceptible in most patients.

Recovery

Bruising and swelling following eyelid surgery varies from person to person. Usually bruising is gone in 7 to 10 days. The swelling should subside within two weeks. Lubricating ointment and cold compresses will decrease bruising and swelling. Sutures are removed 5 to 7 days following surgery. Most patients return to work in about one week. Makeup can be applied to the eyes 24 hours following the removal of sutures. It is important that you protect your incisions from the sun with the use of darkly tinted sunglasses and / or sunscreen until the healing process is fully complete.

Safety

Complications from eyelid surgery are uncommon but can include: Bleeding, infection, dry eyes, inability to fully close the eyes, a pulled down of the lower eyelid (ectropion), abnormal discoloration of the eyelids skin, possible loss of vision (extremely rare).

Cost