Eyelid Surgery
What is A Blepharoplasty or eyelid lift?
Every year, one hundred thousand men and women choose blepharoplasty to improve the way they look. Droopy eyelids can make you look older and can also impair vision. Blepharoplasty corrects these problems and also removes puffiness and bags under the eyes that make you look worn and tired. This procedure cannot alter dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, nor can it change sagging eyebrows. Though blepharoplasty is often performed as a single procedure, your surgeon may also recommend a browlift, facelift, or skin resurfacing to achieve the best results.
Successful facial plastic surgery is a result of good rapport between patient and surgeon. Trust, based on realistic expectations and exacting medical expertise, develops in the consulting stages before surgery. Dr. Bowman can answer specific questions about your specific needs.
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580-242-2800 AppointmentsMaking The Decision For Blepharoplasty
Is Blepharoplasty For You?
As with all facial plastic surgery, good health and realistic expectations are prerequisites. Blepharoplasty removes the excess fat, muscle, and skin from both upper and lower lids. The results can be a refreshed appearance, with a younger, firmer eye area.
People with circulatory, ophthalmological, or serious medical conditions must rely on the diagnostic skills of their own personal specialists to determine whether blepharoplasty is an option to consider. Consultation with Dr. Bowman can help you decide whether any additional, complementary surgery would increase the success of the surgery. A simultaneous forehead lift may help correct a drooping brow and smooth the forehead, or skin resurfacing may help remove the fine line wrinkling in the eye area.
During the pre-surgical consultation, you will be examined or asked to answer queries concerning vision, tear production, use of lenses, and your desire for surgery. Dr. Bowman will explain what you can expect from blepharoplasty and take a complete medical history. Factors to be weighed include age, skin type, ethnic background, and degree of vision obstruction.
After a mutual decision is made by both you and your surgeon, the technique indicated for your individual surgery will be discussed. The type of anesthesia, the surgical facility, any supportive surgery, and the risks and costs inherent in the procedure will be outlined.
Understanding The Surgery
In upper eyelid surgery, Dr. Bowman first marks the individual lines and creases of the lids in order to keep the scars as invisible as possible along these natural folds. The incision is made, and excess fat, muscle, and loose skin are removed. Fine sutures are used to close the incisions, thereby minimizing the visibility of any scar.
In lower eyelid surgery, the surgeon makes the incision in an inconspicuous site along the lash line and smile creases of the lower lid. Excess fat, muscle, and skin are then trimmed away before the incision is closed with fine sutures. Eyelid puffiness caused primarily by excess fat may be corrected by a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. The incision in this case is made inside the lower eyelid, and excess fatty material is removed. When sutures are used to close this kind of incision, they are invisible to the eye. They are also self-dissolving and leave no visible scars. Under normal conditions, blepharoplasty can take from one to two hours.
Facial plastic surgery makes it possible to correct many facial flaws and signs of premature aging that can undermine self-confidence. By changing how you look, facial plastic surgery can help change how you feel about yourself.
Insurance does not generally cover surgery that is done purely for cosmetic reasons. Surgery to correct or improve vision or surgery for eye deformity or injury may be reimbursable in whole or in part.