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Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty

Upper eyelid blepharoplasty is primarily removal of excess skin and soft tissue in the upper eyelids. Excess upper skin is called dermatochalasis and may create a tired or aged appearance and even cause decreased peripheral vision, decreased contrast sensitivity, and even nightly headaches from straining of the eyebrows to boost up the eyelids. Raising the eyebrows to compensate for dermatochalasis can also cause permanent, deep set, horizontal wrinkles on the forehead. Extra skin in the upper lids may also cause hooding of the skin over the eyelid, which can hide the eyelid platform – an area women may apply makeup to. 

 

During surgery, an incision is made in the eyelid skin along the lid crease to perform the surgery while hiding the scar. During the surgery, customized fat removal from the upper lids may be performed to assist the patient in regaining a more youthful appearance. 

Upper blepharoplasty can be performed in our office surgical center avoiding the costs of a facility fee – which can be more expensive than the surgery. This helps keep the costs low while still providing an optimum level of care. The procedure is performed under light sedation with an anesthesiologist in the room ensuring you remain relaxed and comfortable.

Patients can return home immediately after the procedure and resume nearly all normal daily activities the next day.

Blepharoplasty is one of the most commonly performed facial surgeries worldwide and the most common procedure Dr. Sweeney and Dr. McDevitt perform. Patients may request for this surgery to improve their appearance or to improve vision. Regardless of the indication for the surgery, the outcome rejuvenates the area surrounding the eyes and provides an overall more youthful and rested appearance to the face.

Dr. McDevitt and Dr. Sweeney are fellowship-trained oculoplastic surgeons – the only specialty in medicine focused on eyelid surgery. They have each done thousands of eyelid surgeries and perform blepharoplasty multiple times on a weekly basis. With this level of experience comes increased skill. Trust your eyelids to the experts and see an oculoplastic specialist for your eyelid surgery.

Dr. McDevitt and Dr. Sweeney customize all their eyelid procedures to be harmonious with the patient’s appearance. For blepharoplasty surgery, this may inovolve removing more or less skin, establishing a lid crease versus trying to camouflage a lid crease, and removing or redistributing upper eyelid fat.

In Hawaii, many of our patients have an “Asian eyelid” appearance. While there are numerous different types of eyelid configurations found in people of Asian descent, a subtle or hidden lid crease is often what is meant by “Asian eyelid.” Surgery to obtain natural results in patients with less prominent or hidden eyelid crease requires a high degree of familiarity and attention to avoid an unnatural postoperative appearance. Dr. Sweeney and Dr. McDevitt and highly experienced in Asian eyelid surgery and will work with you to customize the surgery to obtain your cosmetic goals.

Whether or not blepharoplasty is covered by insurance is based on the amount of skin in the upper eyelids. Often times, heavy extra skin touches the lashes and rolls over the lashes to begin impeding on the peripheral vision. Other times, it may just be a small skin roll that is cosmetically bothersome. Dr. McDevitt and Dr. Sweeney will evaluate you for the degree of extra skin (dermatochalasis) and perform standardized photography and visual field tests to help determine if you meet the criteria of your insurance company for an insurance-covered surgery. If you do not meet the criteria for insurance-covered surgery, you can either wait until the eyelids age to meet the insurance criteria or you can proceed with surgery covering the costs of surgery yourself. When the surgery is paid for by the patient rather than an insurance company, this is considered a cosmetic blepharoplasty.

Yes, they can. Dr. Sweeney and Dr. McDevitt routinely perform upper and lower blepharoplasty at the same time. Patients commonly request for this because they want to take on the bruising and swelling all at one time and regain a more youthful appearance in the upper and lower lids symmetrically.

The results of an upper lid blepharoplasty reverse time, often reducing 20+ years of aging to the upper lids. However, blepharoplasty does not stop aging, and over time, the skin will continue to change and become more elastic. The gains made with blepharoplasty, however, will not be lost. If needed blepharoplasty can be performed in a person’s lifetime, however, this is generally not needed.