Archive for the ‘Blepharoplasty / Eyelift / Eye Lift / Dark Circles / Eye Bags’ Category

Lateral Canthoplasty is done the least after Double eyelid crease formation and medial epicanthoplasty

Friday, March 19th, 2010

This is a question that I answered for a patient regarding whether she should get a lateral epicanthoplasty along with a medial epicanthoplasty and double eyelid crease formation.  Lateral Canthoplasty is done the least after Double eyelid crease formation and medial epicanthoplasty.  The are good reasons for this.  The lateral canthal area is not the area that really defines the differences between an Asian and a Caucasian Eyelid.  The medial canthal area is the area where Asians mostly have a difference.  It is thought to be due to a lack of development of the nasal bridge or other arrested point.  When you are developing all people have epicanthal folds.  These folds disappear as you develop in the womb.  In Asians, approximately 40-70%, have a persistent fold and they are called epicanthal folds.  The lateral canthi don’t have major differences between the two groups.   Hence surgical correction of the medial epicanthal folds is where the most difference will be noticed.  That is also the reason why doing a lateral epicanthoplasty is a lot likely when one does Asian Blepharoplasty.  Another reason that the lateral epicanthoplasties are not done is because they can readhere back to the orginal shape and the success rate is also a lot lower than compared with the medial epicanthoplasty. From your pictures, you have a wide enough horizontal dimension.  I think a double eyelid crease procedure and a little medial epicanthoplasty will really improve the appearance of your eyes. Here is video on Asian Blepharoplasty and Medial epicanthoplasty.

I hope that was interesting for you!

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

I don’t want to have a surgical procedure for Asian Eyelift / Blepharoplasty what are my options?

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Asian Blepharoplasty can be done with just sutures.  One thing to realize is that this method although less invasive is not as reliable and you may end up with the same thing where one side is more defined than the other just the reason that you want sometime done. The surgical method is still minimally invasive and can be done as an outpatient under local anesthesia with or without iv sedation. This method of opening up the eyelid and recreating the crease is more reliable and less likely to have differences between sides.  The one option is to do the suture method and see how your healing goes and if it is sufficient for you than that would be the best.  If not you might still have the option of opening the eyelid and creating the crease in a more definitive manner.

I hope that was interesting for you!

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

I am wondering if a brow lift, asian double eyelid crease procedure or a epicanthoplasty in the medial or lateral area would make my eyes look better.

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

This is a question that I answered for a patient:

A double eyelid and a medial epicanthoplasty would be fitting for you. In my opinion and the opinion of many of my colleagues a lateral epicanthoplasty usually leaves something less than desired for many people.  What distinguishes an Asian Eyelid from a caucasian eyelid is usually the medial canthus where an epicanthal fold is present in about 50-80% of Asians.  This has an effect of making the eyes smaller horizontally.  I see the hooded portion in the lateral part of your eye.  However, I believe that if you were to do a double eyelid crease formation that part of your eye would be tacked upward and will be markedly improved.  I do see that you have an extra fold in the medial part of your eye that is called the epicanthus. Because the picture shows that the fold covers that fleshy part of your eye in the middle part I would classify this as a type 3 epicanthal fold. If it was partially covering the fleshy part it would be classified as a type 2.  An epicanthoplasty would open up your eyes horizontally here a great deal.  I don’t think you need a brow lift. I think the distance from eyelid margin and your brows is long enough and a brow lift would make you look surprised. I really think that you need some fat in your eyelid or some type of filler there to volumize this area.  If you look at some pictures of you when your were a child you will see more fullness there where the volume could recreate some youth for you there. As for the lateral epicanthoplasty, you can always do that later but I really don’t think that it will ever enhance your appearance.

I hope that was interesting for you!

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Does Asian Blepharoplasty and Double eyelid Surgery mean the same thing?

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Asian Blepharoplasty and Double Eyelid Surgery is essentially the same thing.  Double eyelid surgery specifically means creating the crease in the upper eyelid.  Now this doesn’t have to be used only on Asians.  Caucasians can have this as well and can lose their double eyelid later on in life due to aging.  So this procedure of creating a double eyelid can be used for this group as well.  Most of the time when Asians want an eyelift they usually come in to discuss creating the double eyelid crease and in this instance when you are talking about an Asian Blepharoplasty, creating the double eyelid crease is usually a part of this procedure.  Sometimes though in older Asian patients who have a double eyelid already, Asian Blepharoplasty could just be a regular blepharoplasty that is applied to all races and could mean that a double eyelid crease creation may not be necessarily a part of the eyelift. Here is video on Asian Blepharoplasty and Medial epicanthoplasty.

I hope that was interesting for you!

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

I have small Asian eyes and is wondering if a double eyelid procedure will make my eyes look bigger because I don’t think it will.

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

This is a question I answered for someone who was interested in a double eyelid surgery for Asian eyes:

The double eyelid procedure will help to make your eyes look bigger. Based on the picture, it doesn’t look like you have any crease. Sometimes skin is allowed to override your eyelid margin which can make the eye opening look smaller.  Also by creating an eyelid crease, the shadowing contributes to the appearance that your eyes are bigger by creating the shadow the meets up with the dark part of your eyes.  Another procedure that can help open up your eyes is the medial epicanthoplasty that is done in the middle part of the eyes that will open the eyes up horizontally.  Lastly, you can do a procedure that tightens up the muscle that opens up your eyes but this is advanced, is not standardized or universally accepted to open up your eyes. Here is video on Asian Blepharoplasty and Medial epicanthoplasty.

I hope that was interesting for you!

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

I would like my crease to be higher but I’ve already had a double eyelid operation done for my Asian Eyes? Also I would like the corner’s of my eyes operated on for a larger looking eye.

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Double eyelid crease formation and epicanthoplasty can be done as a revision.  There are a few nuances that need to be considered in this situation.  Making a higher crease, will or may entail a higher incision and fixation at a higher point with also more skin excision.  It is usually easier than making a higher crease smaller.  When you mention opening the corner of your eyes, do you mean the inner or outer corners.  The inner corners are more likely the area that will open your eyes more than the outer corners from a congenital standpoint.  Asian epicanthal folds are in the medial or inner corners of the eyes. This is what distinguishes Asians from Caucasians in many Asian people and not the outer corner of the eyes.  I have seen many results from the outer corners being cut and they don’t make as much difference as when the procedure in the inner part of the eyes are done.  One thing to remember is that most Asian appearing eyes have a crease that is 3mm or less when the eyes are open.  When they are larger they begin to take on more of a western caucasian look.  There are studies that validate this assertion in the literature.  Here is video on Asian Blepharoplasty and Medial epicanthoplasty.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

How long should I wait after an eyelift / blepharoplasty procedure to wear contacts?

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

This depends on the particular eyelift / blepharoplasty (Dr Young Seattle, Washington) surgery you are getting. In general, I tell people to wait to wear contacts two weeks after the procedure to allow the incisions to heal and to give you time for any discomfort from the procedure to be more tolerable.  The discomfort can be an issue with contacts when you have to stretch your eyelids to put them in.  It usually happens that at 2 weeks, your discomfort from the procedure is also much improved for you to put your contacts in as well.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Blepharoplasty / eyelift for a person in there 20’s

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

This is a question that I answered for a person who was thinking of an upper blepharoplasty / eyelift to decrease the puffiness in their upper eyes.  This is how I answered her questions:

This puffiness that you see is really actually what makes you look younger.  I think what you are looking for is a more sculpted look where you have less fat in your eyelids.  This can be done for you but I think you should really think about it before doing so.  You might need to also increase the height of your double eyelid crease so that more of your pretarsal show is present with your eyes open.  I have a blog that discusses pretarsal show with some diagrams if you are interested in reading that.  I don’t really think you have extra skin, I think you have normal puffiness that a young person has.  You can always discuss this in more detail with me during a phone consult if you are interested.  Asians typically have more periorbital eye fullness and fat.  This can give them a more puffy appearance but this is part of their ethnicity.  What you might be interested with what you are asking is more westernization of your eyelid which can be done.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

How soon can I fly after a blepharoplasty procedure?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

After Blepharoplasty and other significant facial surgery, staying near your doctor for the first weeks is important.  The most important periods when bleeding can occur is usually the first 24 hours where most events (greater than90%) occur.  The second point is 6-7 days later when the clots start to dissolve and there is a period when the blood vessels are unstable.  Sudden bleeding can lead to significant pressure on the eye that might need to be addressed immediately.  Sometimes this pressure can put your vision at risk.  I usually suggest not flying for at least 2 weeks from the procedure.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

Epicanthal folds can keep an Asian Blepharoplasty result from realizing its full potential

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Often times, when you do an Asian Eyelift (Aesthetic Facial Plastic Surgery in Bellevue, WA) you can create tension at the middle part of the eye where the epicanthal fold is located.  When the crease is made higher than lower, the tension that the higher fold creates can place tension on the epicanthal fold and lead to what is commonly referred to as the round eye deformity.  The appearance is an eye that looks round because it has increased its dimension in the superior and inferior direction but has remained the same in the horizontal dimension.  In this case, an epicanthal fold can relieve this tension and create a more pleasing appearance to the eye by reshaping the epicanthal fold. There are four types of epicanthal folds.  Type on is where there is no extra fold of skin that covers the fleshy part of the middle part of the eye called the lacrimal lake.  When the epicanthal fold covers the top part of the fold and partially covers the lacrimal lake like the picture below a type 2 epicanthal fold exists.  When the fold totally covers the fold a type 3 epicanthal fold is present.  When the fold is reversed and is mainly originating from the lower eyelid, a type 4 epicanthal fold is diagnosed.  Below shows a very common way to reshape the epicanthal fold.  Point B is where the epicanthal fold transitions into the lower eyelid. Point A is the medial most point of the lacrimal lake. There is another point on the other side of the epicanthal fold that is called point D coinciding with the surface representation that is Point A.  Point C is the extension of the marking from Point A that meets with the double eyelid crease markings that comes from Point E where the epicanthal fold meets the upper eyelid transition.  Lines AB, BD, and AC are all equal.  Simply put, the triangle EAC is excised and after cutting DBA, the flap DBA is moved to ECA used to be.  The lines BD and AB are sutured together.  Here is video on Asian Blepharoplasty and Medial epicanthoplasty.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington

park z epicanthoplasty