LOWER EYELID
(EYEBAG) SURGERY

Eyebags are mild swellings or puffiness that develop on the skin under the eyes. These form as a result of weakened muscles and skin around the eye, which sag and create a pouch. Excess fat and fluid can accumulate within this pouch, resulting in a swollen and puffy undereye appearance and skin discoloration.

Aside from the weakening and sagging of the muscles around the eyes, other contributing factors may include:

• Genes: Some people develop eye bags due to hereditary factors, especially if they have family members who also have them.
• Ageing: As people age, the muscles and tissues that support the eyes naturally weaken, causing the fat in the lower eyes to move downward, making them appear swollen.
• Medical Conditions:
  • Allergies: Nasal congestion and inflammation can cause the eyes to become watery and teary, leading to more undereye puffiness.
  • Dermatitis: A general term that describes a skin irritation, dermatitis can develop on your eyelids and around your eyes, resulting in swollen eyes.
  • Renal disease: Puffiness around the eyes may also be due to the fact that your kidneys are leaking a large amount of protein into the urine, rather than keeping it in the body.
  • Thyroid eye disease: This occurs when the eye muscles, eyelids, tear glands and fatty tissues behind the eye become inflamed, causing the eyes and eyelids to become red and swollen.
• Lack of Sleep: During sleep, fluids accumulate in the tissue under the eyes. When a person lacks sleep, their blood vessels may leak and combine with the accumulated fluids under the eyes, resulting in dark circles.
• Excessive Salty Food: Our bodies retain fluids when eating salty food. One of the many places that these fluids can accumulate is underneath the eyes.

For more severe cases of eyebags that do not respond to conservative treatments, surgical options may be needed. One such treatment is the scarless eyebag surgery, in which the surgeon removes excess fat beneath the lower eyelids through a tiny incision created in the crease of the lower eyelids. This can result in a fresher, more energised and youthful appearance.

Lower eyelid surgery usually benefits individuals with:

1. Moderate to severe eyebags
2. Severe skin laxity of the lower eyelids

This is a method of eyebag surgery which involves a hidden incision through the inner lining (conjunctiva) of the lower eyelid, approaching and treating the eyebag from an internal approach. It leaves no external scars and is known as the TransConjunctival approach.

The ideal candidate for the TransConjunctival approach is a younger patient with isolated eyebags without significant skin laxity.

Fat Redistribution describes the use of the eyebag fat to fill in the hollows sometimes found just below the eyebags known as tear troughs. This advanced technique adds to the long-term result by avoiding potential hollowing from excessive fat removal and potentially avoids the need for fillers to address the tear troughs which appear with age.

With fat redistribution, the fat is not disconnected from its blood supply and thus its survival is ensured; giving smoother, more predictable results. With fat transfer, the survival is usually 50% to 70% in experienced hands making it less predictable.

The surgery usually takes 60 to 90 minutes under local anaesthetic and light sedation.

Most of our patients return to work within a week.