Correcting Eye Bags with Laser Assisted Surgery

As you grow older, the chances of developing bags under your eyes increases. This usually occurs in response to gravity as the protective layer of fat that surrounds your eyes begins to sag. In addition, your skin becomes less elastic as your grow older. The bags under your eyes make you look older and create a perpetually tired look. With laser cosmetic surgery, however, your face can look younger and alert.

The Causes of Bags Under Eyes

There are a number of factors that can cause eye bags to form. First, the fat around your eyes can place excessive pressure on the skin, ligaments, and muscles around your eyes, causing them to become loose. The extra fat then gets behind your eyelid's support wall, causing them to appear baggy. Baggy eyes can also occur when the skin becomes too relaxed, which results in too much skin in the area. In other cases, the eyelid's muscles become thickened. For some people, puffy eyelids can interfere with vision.

Correcting Bags Under Eyes with Laser Surgery

To correct eye bags, you can undergo upper blepharoplasty. Blepharoplasty is a procedure that involves removing crescent skin as well as underlying fat from the upper eyelids with a laser. This can correct both drooping and sagging. Another option is laser assisted transconjunctival lower lid blepharoplasty, which is a procedure to remove excess fat from the lower eyelid.

In either case, the surgeon will make a small incision in the skin around the eye. He or she will then remove the excess fat and skin that is causing the bag to appear. Most people need to have this surgery on both the upper and lower eyelids in order to effectively remove eye bags. Generally, a strip of skin is removed on the upper eyelid in order to remove fat from the area. In this case, it is removed where a natural crease is already present in the eyelid. This way, the appearance of scarring is minimized.

Usually, eyelid surgery requires staying the entire day or night, depending on the time of day the procedure was started. The procedure does require stitches, which are usually removed three to seven days after completing the surgery. After these stitches are removed, you can resume your regular activity.

Deciding if Eye Bag Laser Surgery is Right for You

If you have difficulty with seeing because of your eye bags or if you have problems applying eye shadows because of the puffiness in your upper eyelid, you might want to consider upper blepharoplasty. Lower lid blepharoplasty might be right for you if you have bags beneath your eyes.

Ideally, you should be 35 years or older to undergo laser surgery for your eye bags. In addition, it is important for you to be physically fit and to have realistic expectations for the surgery. If you suffer from certain medical conditions, such as thyroid problems, diabetes, circulatory disorders, and high blood pressure, you are at an increased risk of encountering difficulty with the procedure. In addition, certain eye problems such as glaucoma, dry eyes, and detached retinas are risk factors associated with laser eyelid surgery.

You also need to be fully aware of potential complications before undergoing laser assisted eyelid surgery. For example, many patients experience blurred vision or double vision after surgery. This side effect, however, usually goes away a few days after surgery.

In addition, many patients experience swelling and bruising in the area for a few days after surgery. It is possible for this to remain for a few weeks. Some individuals also develop tiny whiteheads in the area where the stitches were located after they are removed. The doctor can, however, remove these whiteheads with a very fine needle.

In some cases, patients have difficult closing their eyes when trying to go to sleep after surgery. This problem generally subsides within a few weeks, though it can be permanent in rare cases. Ectropin, which is a condition causing the lower lids to be pulled down, is another rare complication of eyelid surgery. In this case, an additional surgery may be necessary to correct the problem.

Before deciding to under go laser assisted eyelid surgery, it is important to discuss your individual circumstances and the potential risks with your doctor. For those that are self-conscious about their eye bags or who are experiencing difficult applying makeup or properly seeing, the surgery can be a welcome solution to a difficult problem.