Drooping eyelids: When the eyes look tired - help from the specialist
Congenital drooping eyelids can look cute when you're young - like Jennifer Lawrence. As we age, many other people develop drooping eyelids, which can make us look tired and grumpy, even when we are in the best of moods.
Because the eye area is the first place where the signs of time become visible. Large, open eyes, on the other hand, stand for youthfulness. If the drooping eyelids are perceived as very disturbing, a surgical intervention can provide relief. "Basically, you have to distinguish between congenital and age-related drooping eyelids," explains Prof. Dr. Ernst Magnus Noah. "Because the procedure usually differs. Therefore, a thorough anamnesis in advance is crucial for an aesthetic treatment result," explains the plastic surgeon.
Age-related drooping eyelids develop mainly due to a sagging of the forehead and eyebrow area. This is because over the years, the muscle, connective tissue and skin layers lose their dynamism and sink downwards. As a result, the forehead presses down on the eye area - drooping eyelids develop.
"In this case, a forehead lift or even an inner eyebrow lift should be performed for an aesthetic result," says Prof. Noah. Because in such cases, merely performing an eyelid correction would not lead to the desired aesthetic result. In a forehead lift, the eyebrows are raised back to their original, youthful position and thus the eyelid area is tightened. The entire skin, muscle and connective tissue layer of the forehead is surgically repositioned. The incision is preferably made at the hairline, using a so-called hairline cut, so as not to alter the natural hairline upwards.
In the case of internal lifting, the eyebrow is moved upwards via the access of the eyelid surgery and fixed (browpexy) In the case of drooping eyelids, which are caused by a pure excess of skin, eyelid surgery is often sufficient to open up the gaze and make the eyes appear larger and more radiant. This is a relatively small operation that is performed under local anaesthetic in only about an hour. The plastic surgeon removes the excess skin and, if necessary, tightens the muscle on the upper eyelid. The suture at the eyelid crease heals quickly and inconspicuously. A tightening of the upper eyelids is often the first surgical procedure patients undergo.
The results are impressive: "With the large eyes now open, the patient's overall expression is more dynamic and he looks much younger," says Prof. Noah.
