Eyelid surgery, also known as blepharoplasty, is designed to remove excess skin and fat from below or above the eye. The procedure is typically considered cosmetic, but it may be considered a medical necessity if sagging skin obscures your vision. Either way, your eye plastic surgeon in Minneapolis will tell you that an eyelid surgery is one of the best ways to give your face a more youthful look.
The Nature of Aging
It sounds ridiculous, but your skin actually starts to age in your late teens and early twenties. You won’t really notice it, but collagen production decreases about 1% per year afterwards. As a result, you will gradually lose some of the fullness that keeps your skin looking perfectly smooth, and your eyes will almost definitely show the effects first.
The area around your eyes is one of the most delicate spots on your body, so it is one of the first spots to show the effects of aging. That is why your dermatologist tells you to never use any pressure on the area and to avoid stretching the skin around the eye at all cost. Even so, the average person will start to see some fine lines crop up in their 30s, and they will become more defined into their 40s and 50s.
That is around the time when you might start to see some sagging both above and below the eye. Now, you might experience that earlier if your skin has been damaged by UV radiation or smoking. This is just a generic timeline. At that point, the sagging skin will tend to draw the eye downwards, making you look older and exhausted. Luckily, you can choose to have upper eyelid surgery in Minneapolis to correct that.
How Eyelid Surgery Makes You Look Younger
An upper eyelid blepharoplasty is a pretty straightforward process as long as it’s performed by a qualified surgeon. In fact, the procedure doesn’t even require full anesthesia, so you won’t have to worry about the complications associated with being put under. Essentially, your blepharoplasty will be done in just a couple of steps.
- Your surgeon will go over your surgical plan one last time, confirming your stated goals.
- Your surgeon will administer a local anesthetic to numb your eyelid. You will be awake for the surgery because it allows the surgeon to make precise decisions. That is how you will receive the most natural look.
- Once you’re ready, your surgeon will make an incision at the point where your eyelid folds, making it very easy to hide any residual scarring.
- From there, your surgeon will remove the excess fat and skin that are causing your upper eyelid to sag.
- Once the excess has been removed, your surgeon with close their incision, cleaning the wound to prevent infection.
- That’s it!
The Results of a Blepharoplasty
You won’t be going out to any parties immediately after surgery. Your body will need a chance to rest and recuperate. Luckily, the resultant bruising and swelling usually only takes between ten and fourteen days to fade. You will still have some visible scarring at that point, but in just a few months, it will be nearly impossible to tell that you’ve had a procedure.
The only real evidence will be that your eyes will be wide open without being dragged down at the corners. This alone gives your face a youthful alertness that other procedures cannot achieve without the effect looking forced. Blepharoplasty essentially allows your eyes to shine without be encumbered by the effects of aging skin.