What is the difference between upper blepharoplasty and ptosis correction?

Hooding or drooping of the upper eyelids that gives you a tired look is often seen with normal facial aging if you are considering cosmetic enhancement of your upper eyelids to help you look more refreshed then you should know the difference between excess skin over the eyes and eye muscle related drooping eyelids why because these are two distinct issues and are managed very differently I often see patients who had cosmetic upper eyelid surgery performed elsewhere who still feel that they looked tired because of their drooping eyelids this often means that the operating surgeon didn’t address a condition called ptosis a medical term to describe a drooping upper eyelid I’ll discuss the difference between hooded upper eyelids and ptosis as well as how i address these conditions in my practice.

I’m Dr Amiya Prasad, I’m a diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and a Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I’ve been in practice in New York City and Long Island for over 25 years, I perform a range of cosmetic eyelid surgeries to treat issues like hooded upper eyelids puffy under eye bags and Asian double eyelid surgery as an oculoplastic surgeon. I trained first in ophthalmology so I perform specific types of eyelid surgery that’s usually not done by general plastic surgeons such as treating eyelid ptosis upper and lower eyelid retraction and treating eyelids affected by conditions like thyroid eye disease.

So how do we differentiate eyelid hooding from drooping upper eyelids or ptosis upper eyelid hooding is typically due to the eyelid skin stretching or sagging due to collagen loss and changes in skin elasticity as your upper eyelid skin changes it folds upon itself so there appears to be excess hooded skin over the eyes this condition is referred to as dermatochalasis when you have drooping eyelids or eyelid ptosis the position of the eyelid margin.

Where the edge of your eyelashes emerge is lower than it normally would be people with eyelid ptosis are often aware that one eyelid is actually lower than the other some people aren’t even aware that their eyelids have descended significantly and are delighted to experience how much better they feel when their eyes are actually more open other people have told me that they struggle to keep their eyes open and they feel fatigue from straining to keep their eyes open eyelid ptosis associated with aging is typically due to a stretching or detachment of the muscle that lifts the eyelid called the levator muscle levator is the word like the word elevator without the letter e interestingly ptosis can be present with dermatochalasis making the diagnosis of ptosis at times kind of challenging.

As I mentioned earlier the treatment strategy for hooded upper eyelids or dermatochalasis is different from eyelid ptosis so an accurate diagnosis is very important surgery for upper eyelid dermatochalasis is more than just skin deep the eyes are three-dimensional so addressing the deeper soft tissue is very important to achieve a natural and aesthetic result many patients express to me their concerns about being able to close their eyes after surgery they ask these types of questions because they’re aware of individuals who had eye-related problems due to the inability to properly close their eyes after aggressive upper eyelid skin removal.

I help people from around the world who have had this type of problem with advanced reconstructive procedures such as skin grafting to the upper eyelids to replace lost skin as an oculoplastic surgeon I’m familiar with dry eyes and other ophthalmologic issues which need to be factored in when planning cosmetic eyelid surgery.

I always say that eyes that look good function well my surgical aesthetic focuses on natural looking results which are more youthful and vibrant not plastic although redundant eyelid skin can be present at the same time as eyelid ptosis many people learn the hard way that removing eyelid skin alone will not treat eyelid ptosis.

As I stated earlier I see a lot of people who had upper eyelid surgery and then come to me to address their eyelid ptosis which wasn’t taken care of initially eyelid ptosis requires specialized surgery to shorten or reattach the levator muscle or another muscle called Mueller’s muscle I routinely perform cosmetic upper eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty with ptosis surgery I perform a lot of my ptosis procedures from the underside of the upper eyelid there are times when I only perform the ptosis surgery without making any incisions on the outside.

I perform upper eyelid blepharoplasty as well as ptosis correction surgery using local anesthesia with LITE IV sedation my patients avoid the side effects often seen with general anesthesia such as nausea and vomiting in addition to prolonged recovery from surgery so in closing I want to encourage anyone considering upper eyelid cosmetic surgery to understand the difference between upper eyelid hooding and upper eyelid ptosis if you suspect that you have ptosis as well as hooded upper eyelids a proper evaluation will help you have the procedures that are best suited for your situation.

I hope you found this information helpful thank you for your question