Can I Make My Eyes More Deep Set With Brow Bone Augmentation?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like to know the differences in the frontal view after orbital decompression and brow bone augmentation? I would like to get deeper set eyes but I know decompressions has a lot of side effects. Do you have photos of before after to show for brow bone augmentation? Thank you

A: Orbital decompression will not produce deep set eyes in a normal patient. While orbital decompression is effective for the patient with protruding eyes (exophthalmos), this is because it is an abnormal protrusion and dropping out the orbital floor bone will give the enlarged eye a space to fall back into. In the normal non-enlarged eye, dropping the orbital floor will only make the eyeball fall lower and not back. Thus in the frontal view, the eyeball may look lower and the pupil drops down closer to the lower eyelid margin. Conversely, brow bone augmentation combined with lateral orbital rim augmentation will make the eye look deep because it moves the bony rims around it further forward. This can be shown by looking at before and after pictures of brow bone/forehead augmentation which can be seen on my website in the Facial Reshaping section under those specific procedures.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana