Laser Blepharoplasty | Philadelphia, PA
Jun 9th, 2010 by admin
Tightening the eyelid is a cosmetic surgical procedure done by a plastic surgeon that will reduce or eliminate completely sagging or drooping eyelids and give a rejuvenated appearance. This procedure is called blepharoplasty, and it can be performed on both the upper and lower eyelids. It will have no effect on crow’s feet, laugh lines, sagging eyebrows or sagging skin on the outer corner of the eye, but works wonders for bags under the eye, dark circles and sagging eyelids.
Blepharoplasty used to be performed with cold steel but in the 1980’s a laser technique started to be used. It did not become popular until the 1990’s because before that there was close area skin damage from excessive heat produced by the laser. This was mitigated and laser blepharoplasty became commonly used.
The upper eyelid may be drooping so low that it is sitting on top of the eyelashes and the lower lid may be puffy with fat and sagging like sacks under the eyes. With laser blepharoplasty there are stitches and recovery time required even though a steel scalpel is not used. Because the blood vessels are cauterized by the laser, they do not need to be clamped before cutting, and bleeding is minimal. This makes it easier for the surgeon and also reduces the time needed for the operation and recovery time. The incision is made with the laser and the fat, skin, tissue and muscle are removed according to what the surgeon thinks is safe. Then the incision is closed with sutures.
Laser blepharoplasty is less expensive and much easier for the patient. There is no hospital stay or pre-operative anesthesia. Most are done as out-patient procedures usually taking from one to three hours. Normally a sedative along with a local anesthesia is given and the patient goes home when it is complete. Recovery time takes from one to two weeks and there may be some bruising but in general the recovery time as well as scarring is much less than with regular blepharoplasty.
First a small area is punctured about the size of a needle in both upper and lower eyelids. The laser, aiming at the fat under the eyelids, liquefying it and removes the dark shadows under the eyes by sealing the enlarged veins. Vision is restored if it has been blocked by the sagging eyelid and the person’s eyes look more open and youthful. Under eye bags can be permanently removed and all the skin around the eye is tightened.
