Can scars be avoided in cosmetic upper eyelid  surgery? People considering cosmetic upper
eyelid surgery or upper eyelid blepharoplasty are  often concerned about visible scars after surgery
they want to be assured that scars will not  be obvious when their eyes are open or closed
as a specialist in all types of cosmetic eyelid  surgery I’ll discuss how I apply science and art
to the planning of upper eyelid blepharoplasty  to make upper eyelid incisions become
virtually imperceptible I’m Dr Amiya Prasad  I’m a Diplomate of the American Board of
Cosmetic Surgery and I’m a Fellowship-trained  oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon
as an oculofacial plastic surgeon I specialize  in all types of cosmetic eyelid surgery
ranging from upper eyelid blepharoplasty for  hooded upper eyelids Asian double eyelid surgery
to create an eyelid crease as well as other  eyelid surgeries not typically performed by
general plastic surgeons such as eyelid ptosis  correction and lacrimal gland prolapse repair
I often perform revision surgeries to correct the  work originally done by other doctors for example
I perform reconstructive upper eyelid surgery  for conditions resulting from infection
or skin shortage from excessive skin removal or  undiagnosed eyelid ptosis as well as other upper
and lower eyelid revision surgeries in upper  eyelid surgery incisions are made for typically
three reasons one is to excise skin when there’s a  need to form an eyelid crease such as in the case
of Asian double eyelid surgery two to remove or  excise redundant eyelid skin causing hooding or
to access the fat and soft tissues under the skin  responsible for excess volume in the upper eyelids
and three to gain access to the levator muscle  that may be causing the drooping of the eyelids
when excision excising redundant skin particular  attention is needed for people with darker skin
types now darker skin types includes olive skin in  the Mediterranean skin type and a range of South
Asian and East Asian skin types as well as darker  Pacific Islander to African origin skin types
designing the optimal placement of  the upper eyelid crease incision
and determining the amount of skin to remove with  minimal tension is critical if the crease incision
is too low too high or extended too far medially  towards the nose and laterally away from the eye
the scar can be undesirably visible with the eyes  open and closed when tension is too high when
closing an incision the scar can become too wide  as well as too thick these principles can be very
well illustrated in Asian eyelid surgery and in  upper eyelid surgery for people of African descent
I perform Asian blepharoplasty  for people of Asian descent
for a defining and eyelid crease commonly  referred to a situation where they have a
monolid the crease is created by first excising  a thin strip of skin and fat that is reducing
fat that is preventing the formation of an eyelid  crease i place sutures to connect the eyelid skin
to the levator muscle which is the muscle that  lifts the eyelid the sutures are placed to close
the incision and where the sutures are placed is  where the eyelid skin folds when the eyes are open
by blending the incision line where the eyelids  would normally have a crease the incision line
camouflages very well in non-incisional double  eyelid surgery no fat or skin is removed but
rather a suture is placed in the same area so the  skin folds when the eyes are open thereby creating
natural looking eyelid crease when I perform  upper eyelid surgery for people of African
descent I’m frequently asked about the risk of  keloids as well as the visibility of these scars
the basic principles I mentioned earlier  applies proper placement of the eyelid
crease incision and minimizing tension  is critical to a successful outcome
in addition the choice of sutures and timing of  suture removal is also important in our practice
we provide detailed aftercare instructions  and we follow our patients very closely
like any cosmetic procedure the results of upper  eyelid surgery is determined by the experience
and expertise of this surgeon  performing the procedure
I can also attest to the value of having an  artistic eye and at the risk of sounding too
dogmatic I can say that the margin between  a successful result and complications can be
truly measured in millimeters I hope you found  this information from my experience helpful
if you’re interested in recommendations for  your individual situation you may contact
us through our websites or call our offices  to schedule a consultation thank you