Eyes Wide Open- What Causes
Droopy Lids?
Droopyeyelidsareoneofthemostcommonreasonsdoctorsreferpatientsto EyePlasticAssociates.Ourpatientsareoftendispleasedwithhowtheir eyelidsmakethemappearolderandtired,butmanyalsoexperiencevision troubleduetotheeyelidblockingtheirfieldofvision.Butwhydodroopy eyelidsoccur?
Twoconditionscausemostcasesofdroopyeyelids.Thefirstisptosis,whichis thenameusedforadroopyeyelidwhentheeyeliditselffailstoopenproperly. Dr.Scottgenerallytestsforptosisbygentlyliftingtheskinontheuppereyelid andmeasuringwhethertheeyecanopenfully.
Ptosishasmanycauses,includingcongenitalanomalies,nervedamage,and rarely,astheresultofBotoxusearoundtheuppereyelid.Themostcommon causeisageneralweakeningorslippingbackoftheuppereyelid’slevator muscle,allowingtheupperedgeoftheeyelidtodroop.Overtime,these attachmentsofthelevatormuscletotheuppereyelidbecomelessstrongand theeyeliddrops.Theconditionisassociatedwithlong-termwearingofgaspermeablecontactlensessincemanypeoplepullontheirlidstooaggressively whileremovingthecontactlenses.So,begentlewithyoureyes!
Mostpeoplewithsignificantacquiredptosiswillreceiveaninternalptosis repair.Duringthissurgery,Dr.Scottwillcreateanincisionontheinsideofthe uppereyelidandreturnthelevatortoitsoriginalposition,therebycorrecting theptosis.Thisapproachleavespatientswithoutanyvisiblescarring,andthe stitchingdissolvesonitsown.
Whentheeyelidisinanormalposition,butthereisredundantskinhanging nearorovertheuppereyelidmargin,thisisreferredtoasdermatochalasis. Skincanhangoverthelidmarginasitnaturallylosescollagenwithage.The fatpadunderneaththeeyebrowcanalsoflatten,lettingskinhangdownand obscureaperson’svision.
Blepharoplastysurgeryisthemostcommontreatmentfordermatochalasis.It isthesurgicalremovaloftheappropriateamountofskin,muscle,and/orfat fromtheuppereyelid.Whendonewell,patientswilllooklikethey’vehada goodnight’ssleepratherthanobviouseyelidsurgery.
Unfortunately,manycasesofdermatochalasis,orredundantuppereyelid skin,aregeneticallyinherited.Youcanminimizeanyadditionaldamageyou
dotoyoureyelidsbybeinggentlewhenwashingyourfaceorgentlewhen insertingorremovingcontactlenses.Anddon’tforgetDr.Scott’sadvice:“If younoticeasakidthatyourparentshavedroopingeyelids,makesuretoget newparents!”