If the eyes are the windows to the soul, you want them to be framed as well as they can be. A blepharoplasty is a cosmetic eyelid surgical procedure that rejuvenates the appearance of your eyelids. You may not be used to looking at your eyelids carefully, but as you age, so do they. They begin to droop, sag, and sometimes bag, and that’s what a blepharoplasty is for.
A blepharoplasty can be performed on both the upper and lower eyelids, making them look younger and smoother. During the consultation, Dr. Bustillo will help you determine how much attention each eyelid deserves. He’ll explain how he avoids removing too much fat, so that the shape of your eyelids will always look like you.
You’re A Candidate If…
1. Near your nose, a small amount of fat bulges out. (If your eyebrow has descended, making the brow skin crowd the upper eyelid, you might also need a browlift.)
2. You’re in your early forties andhave premature aging eyelids. It’s hereditary. With this condition, your lower eyelids can start tobag as early as your late 20s and early 30s.The bags develop because the fat surrounding the eye accumulates under the eye.
3. The lower eyelid muscle has descended, making your eye droop.
4. Your cheek fat (malar fat) pad has descended, which has created a crease in the skin that divides the lower eyelid from the cheek.
5. You’re over 45, and you have passed a medical clearance.
Upper Eyelid Surgery
During the upper blepharoplasty surgery, the excess skin of the upper eyelid (the skin that overhangs) will be removed. An exact amount of skin, which was planned before surgery, will be removed. But it doesn’t stop there. Some fat that was next to the nose will also be extracted.
The incision will be made at the crease of your eyelid. Once the surgery is over, Dr. Bustillo will close the incision with a tiny continuous stitch, which, as itheals, will be barely visible. After five days the stitch will be removed and once the scar heals completely it will be invisible.
Lower Eyelid Surgery
During the lower blepharoplasty, the contour of your lower eyelid will be smoothed so that it blends with your cheek. The fat that bulges underneath your eye will be removed along with some excess skin. After that, your eyelid muscle will be both elevated and repositioned.
This procedure can be accomplished one of two ways. If the skin muscle flap technique is used, an incision will be made just underneath your eyelashes. Your skin and muscle will be elevated, so that Dr. Bustillo can reach the pockets of fat inside. Once there, the fat pockets will be extracted. The exact amount of fat to be removed will be determined by you and Dr. Bustillo before the procedure. Then Dr. Bustillo will tighten the muscles of your eyelid, allowing the eyelids contour to smoothly blend with the cheek. Like the upper blepharoplasty surgery the incision will be closed with a tiny continuous stitch, so the scar will be invisible once it heals.
If you are younger and need little to no skin removal, Dr. Bustillo will use the trans-conjunctival technique. An incision will be made inside the eye where the fat will be accessed and removed, as well as a small pinch of skin from underneath the eyelash, if it’s needed.
Dr. Bustillo might also want to perform a fat transfer with a lower blepharoplasty, so that fat can be placed in the valley running from the inner corner of your lower eyelid to your cheek. This allows the eyelid-cheek junction to be as smooth and blended as possible.
Dr. Bustillo is a board-certified facial plastic surgeon who has been in practice for over 10 years. He’s known for providing his patients with the results they want: Plastic surgery that looks both natural and conservative. For more information or to schedule your consultation, you can reach Dr. Bustillo’s Miami-based practice at 305-663-3380.