The lower eyelid present one of the most challenging areas of the face to treat – mostly because there are so many options.

If a patient’s concern is puffiness due to fat pseudo herniation, or excess lower eyelid skin, then a lower eyelid blepharoplasty is the best option for improvement (probably not perfection!). This procedure will not remove eyelid wrinkles… But a light to medium facial peel or laser resurfacing can help them. For crow’s feet, Botox can be effective, and for certain furrows or hollows a hyaluronic acid filler can soften the lines and fill in areas of volume loss. The upper cheek region should also not be confused as being part of the lower eyelid – the upper cheek usually sags and loses volume with aging. It is best treated with the mid facelift or deep plane facelift to treat the ptosis, or sagging. And the volume loss is best treated with a permanent cheek implant or soft tissue fillers such as fat injections or hyaluronic acid (e.g. Juvéderm or Volbella). Appropriate makeup can also be of great benefit for certain situations. During a consultation, the surgeon can provide the best options to achieve the desired goals.

Why doesn’t everyone have facial rejuvenation?

We know that most everyone likes to “look their best.” This is the reason we keep fit, eat well, take care of our grooming, and before going out select appropriately attractive clothes and, for women, makeup. Our experience reveals that prospective patients are held back from proceeding with a facelift or eyelid lift because of concerns that they will not be pleased with the result, or worries about anaesthesia, or just making the time in their busy schedule to recover. This is why we stress that our goal is always a very natural, refreshed and unoperated appearance, one that passes scrutiny by any observer. Of course, the “flipside” is that improvement, rather than eradication, of every sign of aging must be the accepted goal. Some patients are reassured to know that, in reality, they are many times safer having an anaesthetic (especially with our board-certified anaesthesiologists) than in driving their car. And, finally, yes it does take a week or two to recover from surgery to be active socially and professionally, and this time spent needs to be looked upon as an investment in a happier and better looking future.