What Is Ptosis? Is Eye Correction Essential in Double Eyelid Surgery?

There are cases where, when you go to the hospital just to get double eyelid surgery, eye correction is also recommended. What exactly is eye correction, and what does it improve? Let’s take a look at the meaning of eye correction, the surgical methods, the 기준 for judging whether surgery is necessary, and the side effects.

Ptosis refers to eyes that look sleepy

1. Terms Used in Eye Cosmetic Surgery

1. Ptosis

This is a diagnosis. It refers to eyes that look sleepy and cover a large part of the pupil, as shown in the photo above. The causes vary, including congenital and acquired factors, and ptosis classified in plastic surgery is divided into three stages depending on severity. In about half of the people who consult for double eyelid surgery, mild ptosis is observed.

2. Eye correction

This is the name of the surgery used to treat ptosis. Simply put, it is surgery that makes the eyes look larger. It can be understood as surgery that allows more of the black part of the eye to show. Eye correction is not an academic term; it is used almost synonymously with the officially recognized academic term ‘ptosis correction.’

2. Eye Correction Surgery Method

Beautiful eyes often refer to upper eyelids that cover about 5–10% of the pupil. To create such eyes, the muscle that opens the eyes must be adjusted (corresponding to the green area in the illustration below).

Schematic of the muscle that opens the eyes (green)

Some people have weak strength in this muscle, while in others the connection from the eyelid plate has become detached due to aging or trauma. Eye correction, or ptosis surgery, is a procedure that folds the muscle that opens the eyes so that it becomes stronger. It works on the same principle as cutting a stretched rubber band shorter or folding it over so that its force becomes stronger.

Eye correction works by advancing and folding the muscle that opens the eyes, making force transmission more efficient when opening the eyes

3. Which Eyes Should Have Eye Correction at the Same Time as Double Eyelid Surgery?

• If you hope for your eyes to become a little larger than they are now

• If it is anticipated that the eyes will become smaller after double eyelid surgery

• If the eyes are uneven

• If there is ptosis and the upper eyelid area is sunken in

If this applies to you, combining eye correction is recommended.

You can see detailed eye correction before-and-after photos here.