When Do You Need Droopy Eyelid Surgery?

Eyelid surgery reduces the bagginess from your lower eyelids and gets rid of excess skin on your upper eyelids. This procedure is effective in improving sight in people with sagging eyelids that affect their vision. An eyelift also eliminates crow’s feet, dark circles and facial wrinkles. Eyelid surgery is usually performed alongside procedures like filler injections, laser resurfacing and forehead lifts. 

How Droopy Eyelids Can Affect Your Vision

As your skin ages, it slowly begins to lose its elasticity. The constant gravity pulls plus a loss in elasticity results in excess skin collection on your eyelids. On your lower eyelids, excess skin causes bulges and wrinkles. On your upper eyelids, excess skin hangs over your eyelashes making it difficult for you to see. The fat that separates your eyeball and skull can also get loose with age and cause your eyelids to bulge. Drooping eyelids may seem like only a cosmetic issue, but they can actually impact your vision. Severe drooping or sagging of the lids can compromise your peripheral vision, cause difficulty reading, and make it hard to drive safely.

People with drooping eyelids often report needing to tilt their head back or raise their eyebrows in order to see. This causes other side effects, like tension headaches and even migraines as a result of constant tilting or raising. Some also experience eye pain and excessively dry or watery eyes. While many patients undergo eyelid surgery to improve cosmetic appearance, this procedure also improves vision and quality of life.

Signs You May Need Droopy Eyelid Surgery

Some cases of drooping eyelids can be treated without eyelid surgery, while others will need blepharoplasty to improve the condition. You may need droopy eyelid surgery if:

• The skin on your upper or lower eyelids sags
• You have trouble seeing due to your eyelids hanging too low
• You find it difficult to keep your eyes open due to heavy eyelids

In cases where your upper eyelid is interfering with your vision, the doctor can perform routine tests to determine if the procedure is medically necessary, in which case it can be covered by insurance.

See If Eyelid Surgery Is Right for You

If you have drooping eyelids that make it difficult for you to see, then eyelid surgery is the best solution. Aesthetic reasons for considering eyelid surgery are the need to tighten your drooping eyelids, wanting to get rid of an old or tired appearance and removing puffy bags under your eyes. Eyelid surgery can also remove wrinkling of lower eyelids and brighten up your eyes. Drooping eyelids and bags under a person’s eyes are a common symptom of aging. This procedure is usually done on people who are 35 years old and above. However, persons below the age of 35 years go for this procedure to get rid of hooded eyes. This is a condition where a person’s upper eyelids sag to the point of obstructing their eyesight.

We offer eyelid surgery at SightMD. If you have any questions or concerns contact us to get more information or to set up a consultation today.