Injectable Fillers

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in getting Restylane fillers to improve the appearance of the bags under my eyes. But, I am not entirely certain if Restylane or other injectable fillers are suitable. In looking at my pictures do you believe that Restylane could be a solution? Thank you!

A: I do not believe that injectable fillers under your eyes are a good treatment. While the objective may be noble to try and smooth out the undereye area, what will occur instead is the creation of large balloonish lower eyelid bags making the entire situation worse. I have seen this too many times. The effective treatment is a lower blepharoplasty to partially remove some of the herniated fat pads and reposition other parts of the fat over the infraorbital rim.

While injectable fillers have a role in correcting undereye hollows, they do not work well to help camouflage bags in my experience. Placing injectable fullers around the bags will usually lead to creating ‘filler bags’ with the whole undereye area looking fuller or bloated. While such filler can be removed by hyaluronidase enzymatic digestion, it is usually best to avoid this problem in the first place.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana