Eyes

Your eyes are the window to your soul. They show your happiness, your sadness, your anger, your love. When we are tired, it is our eyes that people notice first. We all understand how important it is to have beautiful eyes. It is not surprising that the most common complaint our patients have is their aging eyes. Patients come to our office stating "People say I look tired or angry, but I'm not!" Let's review the many procedures we can do to accentuate your eyes, form the most simple, to complex.

Latisse:

Brooke Shields's face is everywhere advertising her long eyelashes as a result of using Latisse. This is a glaucoma medication that causes eyelashes to grow, although no one knows exactly how it works. When used cosmetically, the product is painted on the base of the upper lashes like eye liner at bedtime for about 3 months. Once the lashes are of satisfactory density and length, it only needs to be applied about 3 times a week.

This product works on everyone with eyelashes. It makes the lashes longer, thicker and darker. I have never seen it "not work," even for fine, thin Asian lashes and blonde lashes. The major risks are a darkening of the skin at the base of the lashes, which is usually not problematic. There is a risk of darkening the color of the iris, but this has NEVER been reported for Latisse and I have not seen this in my practice.

Botox or Dysport:

Botox, and its new competitor, Dysport, can be used to accentuate the eyes in several different ways.

Crow's Feet:  The best treatment option for crow's feet.
Wrinkles between the eyes (the number 11 sign): The added benefit of injection between the eyes is a resulting "chemical" browlift.
Tail of the brow lift: This is called a lateral brow lift that can be accomplished with a few units of product.
Bunching under the eyes with squinting: This bunching responds very nicely to 1-2 units of product and the bonus is that it also makes the eyes look bigger.
Make the eyes look larger: see above for bunching
Browlift: see above for wrinkles.

Permanent Makeup(cosmetic tattoo):

We are pleased now to offer permanent makeup performed by Inez Ferguson. Micropigmentation can be used to highlight the eyebrows or serve as permanent eyeliner.

Skin Care:

No beauty product has ever been proven to thicken the skin and reduce fine wrinkling, EXCEPT for Retin-A! When Retin-A is combined with a dedicated skin care program, and is directed by a knowledgeable aesthetician, the results can be amazing. We are proud to have our expert aesthetician, Jeannine Stevens, providing our skin care services for the past 10 years.

Injectable fillers:

Fillers like Restylane or Perlane can be injected under the eyes to camouflage lower lid aging. They can be used to fill in depressions under the eyes known as "tear trough deformities." Also, injectables can be used to camouflage mild fat herniation in order to delay the need for lower lid surgery. Injections in this region take minutes to perform, are quite tolerable even without topical numbing medication, and the results can last about a year.

Chemical peel of the lower eyelid:

The fine wrinkles of the lower lid skin are not usually improved with eyelid surgery. Even with skin resection, the quality of the skin does not change. For these patients, I will recommend a chemical peel of the lower lids. This can only be done after a skin care program is instituted, so that the skin is prepared for the chemical injury. Working with Jeannine, our aesthetician, the eyelid skin is prepared for the chemical injury. This can be performed as an isolated procedure under local anesthesia, or done in conjunction with most eyelid surgeries.  The skin will peel off in a few days and be replaced by healthier and tighter skin. Patients can have redness of the skin that may last several months. Jeannine can also supply camouflage makeup during the healing process. 

Upper eyelid rejuvenation:  Upper Blepharoplasty

Rejuvenation of the upper eyelids is a very straight-forward surgery. It involves removal of the upper lid skin and fat pockets. This is the only surgery that is occasionally covered by insurance. Patients must first obtain a visual field test performed by their ophthalmologist. If the test shows impairment in peripheral vision due to excess skin covering the visual field, insurance can be billed for the procedure. In most cases, we are able to perform this surgery without general anesthesia! Our patients take a mild sedative and local anesthesia is injected. The procedure takes less than one hour and most patients are back to work in a week or less.

Lower eyelid rejuvenation: Lower Lid Blepharoplasty

Lower eyelid aging is more complex than upper lid aging.  Aging of the lower lid can be due to skin excess, skin laxity, fat herniation or muscle hypertrophy. The most important part of this surgery lies in the diagnosis of the problem (s). Once we determine the exact cause of lower lid aging, the proper procedure is planned. This may involve fat removal, fat transposition, midface elevation, muscle or skin resection.  Unlike upper eyelid