Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty Magazine #67

feature eyes
Youthful Eyes
Eyelid surgery
can take years off
your appearance,
restoring the look
of youth and vitality.
Tara Casey reports.
By subtly removing excess skin and fat from the eyelids, a person’s whole
face can be revitalised. By opening the eyes up and removing “hooding”
of the eyes, the face appears more alert and youthful.
What’s interesting about eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is that the aim is
not to radically change the look of a person’s eye area but rather restore the
shape and contours of the eye region to when they were younger and gravity
and age hadn’t yet taken effect.
Sydney plastic surgeon Dr John Flood takes an individualised approach
to eyelid surgery to achieve precise, effective and predictable results. ‘People
seek eyelid surgery for both cosmetic and functional reasons,’ he says. ‘Some
patients complain of the weight of heavy eyelids on the lash line, or have impaired
vision due to excess skin hooding the eyes. Cosmetic patients are looking to
reduce the appearance of tiredness, or wish to be able to apply mascara without
getting ink all over their eyelids. No matter what the motivation for treatment, the
benefits are always double-fold.’
One of the happy by-products following blepharoplasty surgery is the
relaxation of the brow area, often seen in patients seeking surgery for functional
reasons. ‘Many patients don’t realise it but there is often tension in the forehead
that comes from elevating the eyebrows to counter the weight of the eyelids,’
Dr Flood explains. ‘The brow usually settles down around 10 weeks postoperatively;
the tension alleviates and deep furrows in the forehead relax.’
Dr Flood performs blepharoplasty as day surgery, with patients under general
anaesthetic. He was trained in the procedure by eyelid and breast surgery
pioneer Dr John Tebbetts in Texas, and uses a unique surgical approach to
achieve greater precision and control over the final outcome.
86 www.cosbeauty.com.au