Orbital Eyelid Surgery – Do You Need Oculoplastic Surgery?

When understanding what is involved in an orbital eyelid surgery the first thing you need to know is why you are considering the surgery in the first place. Most people need this type of surgery due to puffiness or swelling around the eyes due to a number of factors brought on by a few different reasons: 

• Excessive fatty deposits that cause eye-bulging or baggy eyes can be corrected with orbital eyelid surgery.
• Eyelid muscles that have weakened due to gravity and aging can be remedied by tightening up the muscles with eyelid surgery.
• Overly teary eyes usually due to allergies – it is important to note that this condition may cause a longer recovery after having oculoplastic surgery.

Of course the first step for you to decide whether you need eyelid surgery is finding the cause of your eye bags, puffiness, or excessive tearing. A thorough discussion of your health and medical history can be done during your first consultation with your surgeon. Important factors in you medical history to make the doctor aware of are any allergies you may have, your skin’s vulnerability to scarring, and any medications you have taken or are taking currently. A full examination of your eye area, orbital fat placement, and eye muscles will be done during this initial consultation as well.

When you go to your consultation be aware that the surgeon will want to take some before photos of your eyes. It is best to go without wearing any makeup as much as it may make you feel uncomfortable. Makeup, especially eye makeup, will only inhibit the doctor from having the best view possible of what the problem is and what you need to have done. Photos will again be taken after your procedure for the purpose of recording and evaluating your results.

It is generally up to the patient as to whether general or local anesthesia is used. Your surgeon will give you a full run-down of the benefits of each so that you can make the best decision. As with any plastic surgery procedure, the surgeon will mark you eyelids to provide physical guidelines for each incision. Whether you are getting excess fat or skin removed or weakened muscles tightened, after surgery you will have fresh youthful eyes again. You are sure to feel more confident with a heightened self-esteem once you are fully recovered.

Make you look younger and more beautiful through an eyelid surgery

Eyelid surgery, commonly known as “Blepharoplasty”, is used to extract excess fat, skin, as well as excess muscles. The surgical procedure is performed either on upper or lower eyelids. As a person ages, the skin around the eye stretches and fat gets accumulated, which may also affect eyesight. Sometimes, both upper and lower eyelids may get affected. People go through an eyelid surgery that may make them look younger and more beautiful than their actual age.


There are several types of eyelid surgery Los Angeles procedures such as:

Upper eyelid surgery is used to remove excess skin present around the eye that may affect the inner corner of the eye.

Lower eyelid surgery is used to eliminate puffiness under the eyes. This is caused due to aging and excess fat and skin getting accumulated near the eye which makes one look older.

Asian eyelid surgery is also referred to as double eyelid surgery. It is designed specifically to improve the appearance of Asian people whose orbital septum structure somewhat varies from others. There is an eye layer that holds the fat back. An Asian eyelid surgery moves this layer towards the margin of the eyelids.

A patient undergoing a lower eyelid surgery requires an incision to be made on the natural lines of lower eyelid. The fat deposited is then removed from the lower eyelid. In an upper eyelid surgery, the incision is made on natural eyelid lines to remove excess muscles, fat, or skin. In both the surgeries, the incision is then closed with the help of sutures.

Some people may have weak eyelids or excess tear production which causes partial blockage of the tear drainage system and poor pumping of tears. Tears are very important for the eyes as they maintain health of the eye. A harmless orange dye is placed in the eye to check whether tears drain normally or not. A tube is then placed in the tear drainage system to see whether the tear sac is open. You need to ask your surgeon for complete information on tear duct surgery before undergoing any kind of procedure.

It takes about 1 to 2 hours for this type of eyelid surgery. A patient may be given a local anesthesia during surgery where the patient remains awake but feels no pain. If general anesthesia is used, you are asleep during the surgery. You may take couple of weeks to recover after your surgery. Your doctor may also suggest the use of painkillers to reduce pain caused by the incision. You may also be asked to use iced eye pads to reduce the swelling as well as eye drops to prevent any infections.

ORBITAL SURGERY – Different Procedure Types

Culturally, the eyes are referred to as the “windows to the soul.” The orbit by definition is the bony, triangular shaped cavity in the skull that protects the actual eyeballs and surrounding structures. Orbital surgery entails the bounded tissues of the orbital walls and orbital septum. This surgery may be done for several different reasons including:

Thyroid eye disease (also referred to as Grave’s disease, Grave’s ophthalmopathy, or thyroid ophthalmopathy)

Removal of tumors around the eye
Enucleation/Evisceration
Socket reconstruction
Repair of orbital trauma and/or fractures.

Proptosis (eyes bulge out) from thyroid eye disease can lead to very serious conditions if left untreated. Common problems that can ensue are irritation, redness of the eyes, corneal problems (keratopathy), tearing issues, potential ocular infections, and even vision loss from optic neuropathy (pressure onto the optic nerve). The eyelid surgery Los Angeles procedure that would be done to remedy this eye disease would be orbital fat decompression. In more severe cases, however, orbital bony decompression may need to be done which involves one or a combination of the four orbital walls with or without the use of examination via endoscopy.

When dealing with any kind of tumor or lesion in, behind, or around the eye, orbital surgery is often performed to do a biopsy to determine further necessary treatment. It is important to find out as soon as possible the seriousness of the condition whether the tumor is benign (such as a cyst), malignant (like lymphoma), or inflammatory. Of course seeking the highest quality care from a top surgeon for such a procedure is key to your successful diagnosis and proper recovery.
Enucleation or evisceration is sometimes performed on a non-functioning or blind eye that begins causing you pain and discomfort. Both of these operations similarly work so that the whole eye or most of the eye structures are removed so reconstruction of the eye socket allows for an implant replacement. A patient needing this type of eye surgery should be able to get an artificial eye put in several weeks after the operation.

Orbital fractures most often occur from traumas such as car accidents, assaults, and bad falls. In these trauma-related cases the fracture must be explored carefully and repaired depending on type of fracture and how big or small it is. Surgeons have various materials in which they use to repair an orbital fracture such as titanium mesh, Medpor implants, and calvarial bone graft (bone graft taken from the skull). Again, the type of material used to repair the fracture all depends on the individual case.

Whatever type of orbital surgery you find yourself needing, the most important thing that cannot be stressed enough, is finding a great surgeon that can make you feel safe and comfortable. Los Angeles has some of the most highly recommended eye surgeons in the country and considering how delicate that part of the body is, Los Angeles is the perfect place to find the surgeon that’s right for you.