DROOPING EYELID OR PTOSIS SURGERY IN SYDNEY
with Dr Naveen Somia
Specialist Plastic Surgeon
PhD FRACS
AHPRA MED0001189889
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What is a droopy eyelid?
Droopy eyelid also known as ptosis, which is a term to describe the appearance of the upper eyelid when the eyelid lash margin is a constantly at a lower level than what is normally expected
What causes a drooping eyelid? (ptosis)
The upper eyelid muscle that is responsible for lifting the upper eyelid and keeping it open becomes overstretched and loses its elasticity and tone similar to an overstretched rubber band. It is unable to lift the upper eyelid and hence the eyelid lash margin sags or droops.
Levator muscle weakness may be present at birth (when it is called congenital ptosis). However, in majority of cases the cause is acquired or due to ageing changes.
With age, the muscle that opens the upper eyelid stretches and loses its elasticity. The laxity of the skin and eyelid muscles, combined with changes to the muscles around the eyes (the muscles that lift the eyelid) and the fat distribution in those areas, can lead to saggy, lazy, baggy looking eyelids, under eye shadows and vision impediment.
Other causes of droopy eyelids are frequent rubbing of eyes, use of contact lenses, cataract operation, repeated episodes of eyelid swelling due to allergies, and eyelid trauma can also cause overstretching of the levator muscle and cause eyelid ptosis or droopy eyelid.
“It's important to note that if forehead wrinkles associated with drooping eye lids are treated with muscle relaxant injections, the eyelid droop may become more obvious. But most people don’t understand the inter-connections between different signs of ageing; including the relational dynamics of eyelid skin ptosis and lines across the brow.”
The most common cause of droopy eyelids (ptosis)
- Overstretching and disinsertion of the muscle and the tendon that opens the upper eyelid due to age related changes
Other causes include
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Eyelid growth, tumours or swelling
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Muscular and neurological problems
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Nerve damage in the eye muscles.
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Trauma to the eyelid structures including nerve injury
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As a complication of anti-wrinkle injections.
Why do droopy eyelids (ptosis) affect your function?
Droopy looking eyelids together, with laxity in the eyelid skin and muscles around the eyes leads to a puffy, tired look.
Gradually it begins to impact your vision and/or leads you to frequently and constantly raise your brow to function. Often, but not always the excess eyelid skin droops and falls over the eyelid margin and restricts your vision.
As a response, forehead wrinkles often develop when there is skin laxity around the upper eyes. In fact, deepening lines across the forehead area can be one of the earliest signs of drooping eyelids; as these skin folds deepen due to constantly raising your brows to combat the drooping eyelid skin.
It’s often done subconsciously and you’re not even aware you’re doing it, but if you’re showing signs of eyelid ageing and your brow area is being impacted by lines, it’s likely a combined effect from puffy eyelids.
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