Can My Eyes be Made More Symmetric Looking?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in trying to make my face more symmetric. My main problem is around my eyes and they are not even. One eye is definitely higher than the other one or it could be that one eye is lower than the other. I am not sure which eye is the right one, all I know is that they are different. I think though that the left eye is too high as I like where the right eye is as it sits on my face. I have attached a front picture for you see what I mean. Is there anyway to make the eyes more even?

A:I would have to say that the vast majority of your facial asymmetry is based in the eye area as you know by looking at your pictures. The position of the two orbits/eyes is the most striking issue. Either eye position is acceptable but it is just that they are different and they are side by side. While one can have a debate about which one is the ‘goal’  to achieve (the good looking one), that discussion is largely irrelevant since you really can not correct one fully to be level with the other.  Their differences are too great. The left eye can not really be brought down as far as the right and the right can not be brought up as far as the left. They are also lid issues with those movements, particularly the position of the medial and lateral canthi.

That being said, the only approach I envision that could work is a combination of making changes on both eyes, build up the floor on the right orbit  and drop the left eye down. Each could be moved 2 to 3mms and together this ‘ying and yang’ approach could overcome the 5 to 5mm difference that currently exists in the horizontal pupillary levels. This may not create perfect orbital symmetry but it would be an improvement.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana