[Rari Plastic Surgery] Lower Blepharoplasty vs. Under-Eye Fat Repositioning (Removal): Which Surgery Should You Choose?

If the area under your eyes looks dull and puffy, making you hear that you look tired often,

you may have considered under-eye surgery at least once.

Among the cosmetic surgeries performed on the under-eye area, the 대표적인 procedures are lower blepharoplasty and under-eye fat repositioning surgery.

Today, we’ll compare these two procedures

and look at which one is suitable for which condition.

What is lower blepharoplasty?

It is a surgery that improves sagging and protruding under-eye skin and fat caused by aging,

removing unnecessary fat and excising the loosened skin according to the condition

to care for both the volume and wrinkles of the lower eyelids at the same time.

Because it can address not only volume but also wrinkles,

it is effective and commonly used for middle-aged and older patients whose skin elasticity has decreased.

What is under-eye fat repositioning surgery?

It is a surgery that improves bulging under-eye bags,

by removing and repositioning the fat inside the lower eyelid beneath the eyes

to make tired-looking, aged under-eyes smooth and lively.

Although the two surgeries may look similar, there are differences in their purpose, methods, recovery process, and more.

To make it easier to understand at a glance, I organized them in a table,

and you can see that while the fat treatment is the same, there are quite a few differences.

Let’s take a closer look with several photos.

The left is before-and-after photos of lower blepharoplasty, and the right is before-and-after photos of under-eye fat repositioning surgery.

Can you see the difference between the two surgeries from the table above?!

The biggest difference between the two eye conditions is skin sagging.

Because sagging skin depends on skin elasticity,

lower blepharoplasty is performed on elderly patients whose skin elasticity has significantly decreased.

Looking at the photo on the left, you can see that reduced skin elasticity makes the fat appear severely protruded

and wrinkles form in the protruding skin.

In this case, lower blepharoplasty can remove the fat and cut away the excess skin,

addressing both the protruding fat and wrinkles at the same time.

(Complete correction of wrinkles or fine wrinkles may be difficult!!)

Compared with the photo on the left, the photo on the right shows that the under-eye area appears bulging,

but there are no deep, noticeable wrinkles.

In relatively younger age groups with no skin sagging,

only the protruding fat needs to be controlled,

so under-eye fat repositioning or under-eye fat removal surgery is performed.

Looking at the post-surgery photo, even though no skin was separately excised,

just addressing the bulging under-eye fat alone led to a smooth and clear improvement.

In the photos above as well, when both fat and wrinkles are the problem, lower blepharoplasty is used,

and even if the under-eye area is severely bulging, if skin elasticity is good, under-eye fat repositioning can be performed

to improve the under-eye area.

Lower blepharoplasty, which involves an external skin incision, generally heals well without a large scar,

but depending on the person, some may be left with a faint scar.

On the other hand, under-eye fat repositioning, which is performed through a conjunctival incision rather than a skin incision,

does not leave any scar at all after surgery,

but redness or conjunctival swelling, known as conjunctival edema, may sometimes occur.

An important point to consider for each surgery is:

when performing lower blepharoplasty, if you want to completely improve under-eye wrinkles,

you must carefully adjust the amount of skin removed because lower eyelid ectropion can occur after surgery;

and when performing under-eye fat repositioning surgery, the bulging under-eye area may temporarily look sunken in the early post-op period,

so you must keep this in mind before proceeding with surgery.

Both eye surgeries share the same goal of resolving under-eye problems,

but the surgical method changes depending on the cause and severity of the symptoms.

If skin sagging and wrinkles are present, lower blepharoplasty is appropriate.

If the issue is dullness and bulging under the eyes, fat repositioning surgery is more suitable.

Of course, this condition should be determined by a board-certified plastic surgeon,

so self-diagnosis is fine, but an in-person consultation is absolutely necessary.

Even a small change under the eyes can change the overall impression of the face,

so it is best to find the surgical method that suits you through consultation and improve your concerns.