Surgical options for removing/reducing under eye bags
Lower Blepharoplasty
Blepharoplasty is the most common procedure used to address under-eye bags. This is a surgical procedure which involves an incision to remove or reposition either the fat and/or the skin situated under the eyes. The two basic approaches to lower blepharoplasty; one is the trans-conjunctival method whereby the fat is removed from the inside of the lower lid. The second is to create an incision directly below the lash line which cuts through both skin and muscle - this goes around the eye to elevate the skin/muscle flap in order to reveal fat pockets beneath - these are subsequently removed and the incision is secured with tiny sutures. This does produce a fine scar, and so, often the first, trans-conjunctival approach is selected.
How is the eyelid surgery/blepharoplasty performed?
This kind of procedure is mostly performed under deep iv sedation (Twilight sleep) combined with loco-regional anesthesia or purely under local anesthesia. You will sleep throughout the procedure, but you will be able to move arms and legs like in normal sleep, which lowers the risk for thrombosis. The procedure is generally pain free and takes between 1-2 hours.
Ocean Clinic experience in eyelid surgery
Our surgeons performed more than 1000 blepharoplasty procedures within the last 10 years. Our clinic is a worldwide leader in combining surgical periorbital rejuvenation techniques with Facial fat grafting for re-volumizing of the ageing orbit and skin resurfacing with Peels to address the skin texture of the periorbital /eyelid region to remove imperfections like age spots and discolorations in one single treatment session. Many of these techniques have been published in international peer-reviewed journals and are on the forefront of new field of 3-dimensional facial rejuvenation.
Blepharoplasty aftercare
Most eyelid procedures at Ocean Clinic Marbella are performed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. This concept allows for a complete painless procedure with patients being sedated only for their comfort. Postoperative pain in eyelid surgery is rare; patients only have a slight feeling of pressure around the eyes for 24-48hrs treated with oral pain medication.
Most patients can go home on the same day and come for a check -up the day after; stitches are removed after 7 days. During the first 4 weeks postoperative our patients will be referred to our unique physiotherapeutic aftercare for quicker recovery and less swelling. Heavy objects beyond 5kg should not be lifted and sports involving weights avoided for a minimum of 14 days.
Non surgical lower lid options
Surgery may not be for you for a multitude of reasons; reluctancy for incisions, severity of your case, cost, recovery time, etc. There are quite a few options for reducing eye bags without the surgery. Dermal fillers can be used to fill areas surrounding the bags in order to smooth out the area and create an even appearance. This is a temporary solution and would need to be readdressed or ‘topped up’ over time. When skin quality is part of the problem, energy-based laser treatments are highly effective ways to reduce the appearance of eye bags; they work by encouraging the tissue to strengthen and for the production of collagen to be stimulated.
This can also be helped by injecting biostimulators, or monofilament threads, into the surrounding areas which also promote the production of collagen, or cosmetic injections to relax the muscle in surrounding areas and create a smoother texture and even skin tone. Each patient would be analysed individually and quite often a combination of the possible treatments used to achieve the best results for that person’s unique case
At Ocean Clinic we would highly recommend a consultation to determine which procedure/s would be the most effective for you after a full analysis of your personal requirements. Contact our clinic today to find out more.