Upper Blepharoplasty (Upper Eyelid Surgery)
Upper blepharoplasty removes sagging upper eyelid skin and excess fat while strengthening the muscle that opens your eye, for eyelids that have started to droop with age. It suits anyone whose eyelid skin now covers or shrinks their existing fold, blocks part of their field of view, or forces them to use their forehead to open their eyes properly.
Restoring Function First, Appearance Second
As upper eyelid skin loses elasticity, it can droop low enough to cover an existing double eyelid fold, crowd your upper field of view, or force you to raise your eyebrows and forehead just to see clearly — which, over time, deepens forehead wrinkles. This procedure removes the excess skin and fat and shortens the levator muscle that lifts your eyelid, aiming to restore both a clearer line of sight and a more rested look without erasing your original features. For mature eyelids, the goal is usually described as keeping your own characteristic look intact while clearing away only the sagging and wrinkling layered on top of it, rather than creating a dramatically different eye shape.
Is This Right for You?
- Your eyelid has drooped enough to cover or shrink an existing double eyelid fold
- Sagging skin blocks part of your upper field of vision and feels crowded
- You catch yourself raising your eyebrows or forehead to open your eyes
- You want to look less tired or aged without changing your fundamental eye shape
Your Treatment Process
- 01
1:1 Precision Design
Your surgeon checks eye width and height, how much iris shows, how far the skin and muscle have sagged, skin thickness, fat distribution, and the strength of your eye-opening muscle before planning anything.
- 02
Tissue Removal
Sagging skin and excess fat that interfere with a clean line are removed.
- 03
Muscle Correction & Fixation
The levator muscle is tightened and secured so the eyelid opens more easily on its own.
- 04
Scar-Minimizing Closure
The incision follows your natural skin crease and is closed from the inside, so it's difficult to notice even with your eyes closed.
Recovery Timeline
The procedure itself takes about an hour under local or light sedation anesthesia, with stitches typically removed at 5 to 7 days. Full settling of swelling is usually described in a wider window — often several weeks — since skin that's thicker or more sagged tends to take longer to fully resolve. Expect a couple of follow-up visits in that stretch so your surgeon can track how the eyelid is settling.
Risks & What Research Says
A commonly discussed consideration for mature eyelids: if your eyebrows were sitting higher because you were using them to compensate for drooping skin, they may settle lower once the underlying cause is corrected — this is normal and is usually factored into how much skin is removed. On eye-function effects specifically, a systematic review of the published literature found mixed results across individual studies looking at corneal health, eye pressure, and dry eye after upper blepharoplasty, but a meta-analysis pooling nine of those studies found no statistically significant effect overall. If you already have dry eyes or another eye condition, raise it during consultation so it factors into your surgical plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from ptosis correction (eyelid correction)?+
Upper blepharoplasty mainly addresses sagging skin and fat; ptosis correction addresses a weak eye-opening muscle. If your skin sagging is severe enough to look like ptosis (sometimes called pseudo-ptosis), removing the excess skin alone can resolve it without touching the muscle — but true muscle weakness needs ptosis correction, sometimes alongside the skin work.
How is this different from a sub-brow lift?+
Upper blepharoplasty incises along your existing double eyelid line and can redefine that fold in the process. A sub-brow lift incises just under the eyebrow instead, lifting sagging skin while leaving your current fold untouched — useful if you don't want your eyelid line to change at all.
Will my eyebrows drop after surgery?+
If you'd been raising your eyebrows to compensate for heavy eyelids, they may settle to a lower, more natural resting position once that compensation is no longer needed. Surgeons typically account for this expected shift when deciding how much skin to remove.
Can this be combined with fat grafting?+
In some cases, yes — if the upper eyelid area looks hollow with a double fold forming from volume loss rather than only excess skin, skin removal is sometimes planned alongside fat grafting to the same area.
Ask Whether Your Case Needs Skin Removal, Muscle Correction, or Both
Send us a photo of your eyes at rest and tell us if you raise your eyebrows to see clearly — we'll tell you honestly what's actually causing the sagging before recommending anything.
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