'One Year Older' Growing Interest in Eye Surgery for the New Year Among Middle-Aged Adults; Upper and Lower Eyelid Procedures Drawing Attention to Improve Drooping Eyelids and Under-Eye Area

With the New Year and increasing interest in a youthful appearance, demand for improving age-related changes around the eyes among middle-aged adults is rising noticeably.

Drooping eyelids and protruding under-eye fat are difficult to correct with non-surgical methods, so upper and lower eyelid surgery is gaining attention as an alternative that can help restore function while also creating a more natural appearance.

Drooping eyelids, which commonly appear in middle age, not only make a person look different but can also block vision, causing fatigue and discomfort. If prolonged, the compensatory habit of overusing the forehead muscles may lead to deep wrinkles or chronic headaches.

In addition, if sagging skin changes the direction of the eyelashes and irritates the cornea, it may also be accompanied by excessive tearing, dry eyes, and a stinging sensation.

A representative procedure for improving these problems is upper eyelid surgery.

This surgery removes excess sagging skin and reinforces the weakened levator aponeurosis (the muscle that lifts the eyelid), with the goal of improving drooping and restoring a natural eye shape close to the original.

Experts point to precise tissue removal that is neither excessive nor insufficient as the key to upper eyelid surgery.

If too much is removed, it can cause incomplete eyelid closure or give the eyes a harsh appearance. On the other hand, if the correction is insufficient, the surgical effect will be minimal.

In particular, middle-aged patients tend to have relatively slower skin recovery and a greater burden from scarring, making delicate incision techniques and fine suturing essential.

For this reason, a customized surgical plan is needed after comprehensively analyzing skin thickness, muscle strength, fat distribution, and skeletal proportions.

The area under the eyes is also a key part that determines an aged appearance.

As people get older, protruding fat deepens the tear trough, and simple fat removal can instead create a hollow under-eye area, which may make the face look tired.

Therefore, repositioning the protruding under-eye fat downward to fill the tear trough is more advantageous for a natural, youthful effect.

During lower eyelid surgery, preserving the orbicularis oculi nerve with a minimal incision and pulling and fixing the sagging muscle in a vertical direction can enhance improvement under the eyes.

However, excessive correction can cause ectropion, in which the lower eyelid turns outward, so the extent of tissue removal and the degree of correction must be precisely controlled.

Because the eye area where upper and lower eyelid surgery is performed has thin skin and frequent facial movement, an approach that comprehensively considers multiple factors such as fat distribution, skin elasticity, and muscle condition is required.

Dr. Jeong Yeon-woo of AB Plastic Surgery said, "Middle-aged eyes can look artificial or awkward if the correction is too much or too little, so the surgeon's skill and accurate understanding of eye anatomy are most important," adding, "Middle-aged patients may also face unexpected variables during recovery, so having surgery at a medical institution with systematic aftercare and a rapid emergency response system can help improve safety."

Source: https://www.e-science.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=121295