Hello!
For surgery with high patient satisfaction,
we always do our very best.
This is Gangnam Seoyon Plastic Surgery :)
Today, we're going to look into the side effects of eye-shape (ptosis) correction and their causes.
During consultations,
"Doesn't eye-shape correction cause serious side effects?"
is a question we often hear.
To give you the conclusion first, undergoing eye-shape correction does not in itself cause side effects.
Side effects can occur when the surgery is pushed too far, or when eye-shape correction is performed with an inappropriate surgical method.
In fact, eye-shape correction is still a very commonly performed procedure,
and if eye-shape correction really did cause serious side effects, the procedure would have been abandoned long ago.
So today, we'll explain what kind of surgery eye-shape correction is, why side effects can occur after it,
and how you can reduce the risk of side effects.
The photos below have had no retouching whatsoever,
aside from brightness adjustment :)
Eye-shape correction is a surgery performed to improve ptosis.
Ptosis refers to a condition in which the eyelid droops so that the eyes cannot open clearly.
Ptosis is caused by drooping skin or by weakening of the muscle that opens the eye.
Of these, eye-shape correction surgery is performed to correct people who cannot open their eyes well due to the muscle rather than skin drooping,
Mild ptosis causes no functional problems, but because it can make a person look sleepy or give a heavy, stuffy impression,
a cosmetic ptosis correction is performed, and this is euphemistically referred to as eye-shape correction.
The side effects that can occur after eye-shape correction
include a pulling sensation and the eyes not closing fully.
Right after surgery, lagophthalmos (incomplete eye closure), in which the eyes stay slightly open during sleep,
along with a pulling sensation and watery eyes, can commonly occur,
but these phenomena that appear right after surgery are not side effects of eye-shape correction;
they arise from irritation to the surrounding tissue during surgery
and are mild, temporary phenomena that improve over time.
If uncomfortable symptoms persist even after time has passed, they may be considered side effects of eye-shape correction.
There are broadly three causes of side effects after eye-shape correction.
First, when the ptosis is severe enough to require incisional eye-shape correction,
but the surgery is forced through with a non-incision method, side effects can occur.
Second — and this is where the most problems arise — is when the orbicularis oculi, the muscle that closes the eye, is excessively cut or damaged.
Finally, side effects can occur when the eye-shape correction is pushed too far, such as by damaging the muscle that opens the eye.
The first cause of side effects after eye-shape correction
is when there is ptosis severe enough to require incisional eye-shape correction, but a non-incision method is forced instead.
Non-incision eye-shape correction corrects the eye shape by tying off the Müller's muscle through the conjunctiva,
and because it can only achieve a small amount of correction, in my personal opinion it is worth attempting only for very mild ptosis —
that is, in patients who open their eyes almost normally but simply want them slightly larger.
If a non-incision eye-shape correction is performed on eyes that actually need an incisional correction,
and the Müller's muscle is tied off too tightly, scarring can form and the pulling sensation can be extremely severe.
In such cases, using the levator aponeurosis together through an incisional eye-shape correction actually places far less strain on the eye.
Because non-incision eye-shape correction only ties off the Müller's muscle, it cannot deliver much corrective force.
The cause of side effects after eye-shape correction,
the second, is when the orbicularis oculi muscle is damaged.
There is a ring-shaped muscle below the double-eyelid line, and this is called the orbicularis oculi muscle (Orbicularis oculi muscle).
This muscle is responsible for closing the eye.
If the orbicularis oculi is over-manipulated and damaged during eye-shape correction surgery, the eye will no longer close.
For this reason, it is important to have eye-shape correction performed by an experienced specialist.
In addition, when incisional double-eyelid revision surgery is done repeatedly,
the tissue or the orbicularis oculi can be damaged over the course of multiple surgeries,
and factors such as excessive skin removal increase the likelihood of side effects.
The cause of side effects after eye-shape correction,
the third, is when a muscle-cutting eye-shape correction is pushed too far.
A muscle-cutting eye-shape correction is called levator resection.
Levator resection is a surgery performed in cases of moderate-to-severe ptosis,
and it does not apply to most patients.
Not only are there few patients who require this kind of surgery,
but although I do perform it occasionally because of the patients who come to our clinic, it is a demanding surgery and not one that is commonly done.
If such a high-difficulty surgery is forced through, problems are bound to arise,
and as I mentioned earlier, performing levator resection on mild ptosis rather than moderate-to-severe ptosis will naturally cause problems.
Eye-shape correction can be highly effective at improving the sleepy, heavy-looking impression that double-eyelid surgery alone cannot resolve,
but rather than blindly relying on eye-shape correction and forcing the surgery too far,
it is important to receive an accurate diagnosis through consultations with several specialists,
and to establish an appropriate surgical plan based on your own eye condition without setting unrealistic goals.
For more on the side effects of eye-shape correction,
you can find more detailed information in the video below.
↓↓↓↓↓↓