General
With advancing age the elasticity of the facial skin weakens increasingly. The consequence hereby is particularly evident in the thinnest skin areas - the upper- and lower eyelids. Additionally to the sagged skin a warp of the fatty tissue like tear trough oftentimes can be seen. The surgical intervention usually can be performed under local anaesthesia and on request - especially in combination of upper- and lower eyelid corrections, short anaesthesia can be applied. Even with so called minor surgeries one should let a specialist with a particular education perform this surgery and not the next best.
Technique
During the surgery of eyelid hooding at the upper eyelid I remove any fatty deposits, excess skin and a muscle tissue after a preexamination and sketching carefully and well-aimed in order to avoid producing a “hollow-eye”. The scar will lie in the natural skin fold of the upper eyelid and therefore and due to the applied suture-technique will not leave a visible scar. In principal the tightening of the upper eyelid is only a short and straight forward surgery. The wound will be sutured with a very fine suture. At the lower eyelid a sketching will equally be drawn before surgery. The incision will be done at the lash line which makes the scar hardly visible. Depending on excess fatt issue (tear sacs) these will be either removed or redistributed, the skin will only sparingly be removed compared to the upper eyelid correction to avoid the risk of leaving a tear trough. The suture is made the same way as at the upper eyelid correction.
Follow-up treatment
Right after the surgery we start with the cooling. This can be done by the patient itself with either chilled cotton-pads or with a special cooling mask for eyes (cosmetic article). We perform a routine check-up on the first day after the surgery. The patient should continue cooling another day. It is also necessary for the patient to apply Bepanthen eye ointment 3-4 times a day thinly on to the suture. It is important not to strain oneself too much the first days after the operation. This way a controlled and uncomplicated healing process canbe achieved. Mostly the stitches can be removed 5.-7. days after surgery, 7-14 days later one is already socially presentable.
