Have you ever glanced at yourself in the mirror and your gaze just drifts towards the area under your eyes? Perhaps this scenario played out while you were scrutinizing a wrinkle or an acne spot, but now you can’t stop staring at your eyes and wondering when they started looking so saggy and tired. If this sounds relatable to you, you may have developed under-eye bags.
Eye bags manifest as puffiness or mild swelling under the eyes, the saggy appearance being caused by the weakening of tissue surrounding the eyes due to age and the migration of the orbital (eye) fat pads that support the eye into the lower eyelids. Skin in the affect area is often also lax, further exacerbating the sagging. Eye bags are often associated with old age, but lifestyle habits, stress, and genetics can contribute to how fast or slow a person starts developing them. Although eye bags are annoying and pose a detriment to your appearance, the good news is that eye bags are typically harmless and seldom interfere with your health and vision.
That said, those seeking to remove the additional baggage under the eyes to restore their youthful glow or rejuvenate their looks may find themselves deciding between non-surgical and surgical eye bag removal. Non-surgical methods, such as removal via AGNES & Secret RF protocol, stand out due to their non-invasive nature and significantly lower downtime compared to a full-blown surgery. However, depending on your age, severity of eye bags, or medical condition, you may find that opting for surgical eye bag removal may be more advantageous for you.
So, what are the merits of getting an eye bag removal surgery? We discuss 5 benefits of getting your bags surgically fixed: starting out with some surprising advantages that may not have crossed your mind and ending off on brief elaborations about some of the benefits that you might be familiar with.
1. Eye bag removal surgery is a long-term solution for people with sensitive skin
To start off, what is surgical eye bag removal? Eye bag removal surgery is type blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) that repositions or removes orbital fat and tissue in the lower eyelid and excess skin around the eye to correct under-eye bags and tighten sagging skin.
Makeup provides a quick but temporary solution to concealing mild eye bags, however, makeup may cause skin irritation/rashes in individuals who suffer from allergies, eczema, or who are prone to dermatitis (skin inflammation). Moreover, excessive use of makeup may harm and dry out the skin around your eyes, worsening wrinkles or causing flaky skin.
The same can be said for non-invasive solutions such as topical under-eye bag treatment creams as both creams and makeup tend to repeatedly agitate sensitive skin. RF based treatments may also not be viable for patients who are allergic or have bad flare up reactions to the topical numbing cream applied before the procedure.
If you have sensitive skin, surgical eye bag removal may be more suitable for you due to its permanent nature once the procedure is completed, and due to the type of anesthetic used for the surgery. As the surgical procedure is generally done under local or general anesthesia administered via injections, it is a suitable alternative for patients who are sensitive to topical numbing creams.
2. Eye bag removal surgery may alleviate certain lower eyelid related medical conditions
Surgical eye bag removal is a cosmetic blepharoplasty procedure done for the purpose of aesthetic enhancement, however, the surgical tightening of the eyelid skin done during the procedure may alleviate the discomfort caused by certain medical conditions like entropion.
Entropion is characterized by the folding of the eyelid inwards towards the eyeball, causing the eyelashes to rub against the cornea and cause discomfort and decreased vision if the cornea gets damaged. Entropion can be caused by age related problems like the weakening of eye support tissue or loss of skin laxity leading to excess/loose eyelid skin; correction surgery is usually the only way to permanently treat these conditions.
The Clifford Clinic offers both non-surgical AGNES & Secret RF eye bag removal and surgical eye bag removal. While both procedures are effective in eliminating eye bags, patients with entropion or similar medical conditions may want to kill two birds with one stone and consider surgical eye bag removal as the surgeons at the Clifford Surgery will help with tightening and cutting away excess skin after removing the orbital fat pads.
3. Reduces the appearance of bulges around the lower eye area and corrects asymmetry
Though fat tissue is naturally present around the eye as fats cushions and provides structural support, displacement of fat pads due to the loss of skin elasticity and increased accumulation of fats under the eye with age will cause the fats to bulge out of the orbit.
Cases where the severity of the bulge in each eye is unequal always results in an asymmetrical or imbalanced look, surgical fat removal is a fast and effective way to correct asymmetry and unsightly bulges.
4. Smoothen fine lines and wrinkles
Loss of skin laxity not only contributes to the formation of eye bags, it also responsible for other signs of aging such as wrinkles, skin folds and crow’s feet (wrinkles around the corners of the eyes).
As mentioned above, during the surgical procedure, the surgeons at the Clifford Surgery will assist with removing excess skin and tightening loose skin following the removal of the offending orbital fat pads. This not only levels out the eyes by reducing fat and tightening the muscles around them, but it also helps to smoothen out wrinkles and give the eyes a firmer and toned look, preserving your youthful appearance.
5. Eye bag removal surgery is an immediate fix that corrects multiple symptoms of aging at once and is effective regardless of eye bag severity
Aging is a gradual process, and it is usually a combination of many individual “problems” that work together to deteriorate your overall appearance. For example, under-eye bags are usually accompanied by dark eye circles, wrinkles, dry skin, skin pigmentation, and saggy skin.
While eye bag removal surgery cannot fix all problems, it can at least tackle and fix the most prominent and telltale signs of aging in one go: under-eye bags, skin laxity and wrinkles. Results of an eye bag removal surgery are also permanent and immediately visible upon recovery.
As mentioned in the introduction, how well you respond to treatment depends on your age and severity of your eye bags. Individuals who are older and thus have greater skin laxity, or individuals with more severe eye bags, may not respond as well to non-surgical treatment alternatives. Surgical eye bag removal is effective in treating all severities of under-eye bags, thus it is suitable for those who are unresponsive to other treatments.
Scarless eye bag removal surgery @ The Clifford Surgery Clinic
At The Clifford Surgery Clinic, scarless eye bag removal surgery awaits those seeking to cleanly and discreetly remove their under-eye bags. The key difference between this and regular eye bag removal surgery lies in the procedure’s name: the procedure’s ‘scarless’ namesake is derived from its ability to avoid leaving a visible surgery scar as the incision is performed within the inner area of the lower eyelid.
Prior to the surgery, our doctors at The Clifford Surgery Clinic will ask about the patient’s medical history and conduct a quick basic health check. This is done to determine whether the patient is eligible and suitable for the surgery. Additionally, the doctor will address the patient’s worries and any potential risks related to the treatment. A shared understanding of the risks associated with the procedure between our doctor and the patient is critical to the surgery’s efficacy and ensuring a smooth recovery process.
The patient can expect to be placed under general or local anesthetic during the surgery. The surgeon/doctor will next create an incision on the inner wall of the lower eyelid and remove or reposition excess tissue and/or fat before closing the incision with a suture. This relatively quick surgical treatment takes around 20 minutes to conduct, and the effects are instantly noticeable once the first post-operative swelling and bruising diminish.
As this is a surgical procedure it is important to keep in mind that certain risks, such as inflammation or infection, are involved. More severe post-surgical issues may necessitate further surgery to address the complications. Hence, to reduce the risk of complications, the surgery should be performed by a certified doctor, such as the surgeons/doctors at The Clifford Surgery Clinic. Our doctors are highly experienced and reliable, with years of expertise.
Final words
An eye bag removal surgery can produce notable benefits beyond aesthetic concerns – it can help alleviate eye irritation caused by certain medical conditions while helping you look your best.
For a consultation regarding an accurate cost estimate based on your preferred treatment plan with our board-certified plastic surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, do not hesitate to contact us today to make your first appointment.