What Type Of Lower Blepharoplasty Do I Need?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am 38 years old and have horrible bags under my eyes despite good sleep and a healthy diet. Can you tell me what the best option would be to get rid of them and down time for the surgery?

A: Despite the fact that you are relatively young, your lower eyelids are a contradiction to your age. They show herniated infraorbital fat pads and some excessive skin. Because your pictures show you smiling (which always makes everyone’s lower eyelids have a lot of wrinkles) I can not fully appreciate how much skin laxity is there or to what degree you may have tear troughs present. Thus it is not a question of whether you would benefit by lower blepharoplasties but what type of lower blepharoplasty. Would it be a fat sparing and transpositional one or should the protruding infraorbital fat merely be excised with the skin tightening? I would need to see a picture of you not smiling to make that determination. Regardless of the type of lower blepharoplasty, the recovery is the same. There will be some swelling and bruising and it will take about 10 days or so to become very presentable in public again. It is not painful nor physically limiting just visibly noticeable for this period of time after surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana