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Fat transfer or blepharoplasty with surgery: 2 options to consider.

By Dr. José Villamarín

Today we are going to talk about fat transfer and blepharoplasty or eyelid surgery with surgery, 2 different but sometimes complementary ways of addressing and improving the undesirable effects of the passing of the years on our eyes.

Your look has lost vivacity… And now what?

The face and gaze have always been of crucial importance in our lives. Not only personally, but also in the social environment, a look full of smoothness and freshness makes significant differences.

The eyes are highly conditioned by our way of life, which is increasingly stressful and dependent on screens. As if that were not enough, exposure to the sun and lack of sleep can add to the natural deterioration of the eyes, eyelids and the rest of the face, over the years.

Sometimes we receive patients with small bags or dark circles under the eyes, or also a slight drooping or sagging of the upper eyelids. These patients are concerned about the image of tiredness or weakness that they present. Frequently, they come to us after having been evaluated in other places, and for whom blepharoplasty surgery is recommended as a procedure to solve the problem.

In some cases, the procedure was already done elsewhere and with results unacceptable by the patient, so we gladly receive these cases of review of surgeries from other sites, to help and unreservedly support a dissatisfied and mentally depressed patient. In some cases, the operated patient does not even know exactly the name of the surgeon who operated on him or if he had the appropriate qualifications, only the name of the center.

From my point of view, and after reviewing these patients in person at the first appointment, and after excluding the primary indication of eyebrow, cheek or face lift, there are cases that do require blepharoplasty in any of the classification degrees created by me -and that can be consulted on my website-, but others do not need it and a fat transfer does. Some cases even require a combination of these techniques.

But… What is a fat transfer?… And a blepharoplasty?

Let’s start with fat transfer. This is a fairly safe procedure, in which I take fat from other parts of the patient’s body -through protocol and special instruments and under local anesthesia with sedation-. After preparing the fat, I inject it through special cannulas in the chosen areas of the patient, giving volume and raising tissues. New collagen can even be induced at the same time, using a special protocol.

Blepharoplasty is a kind of eyelid surgery that can act by reducing or redistributing tissue volumes such as skin, fat or muscle, and also finally elevating some tissues or structures, depending on my personal classification of the eyelids in the patient’s preoperative period. I perform the procedures with minimal invasion, frequently with the assistance of the laser or other energies, but without abusing their application, and with a protocol for surgery and safe procedures designed by me. The main objective is to protect vision, which depends on the delicate eyeball, in an optional procedure such as eyelid rejuvenation.

I have had the opportunity to solve a look simply with fat transfer and without the need for a blepharoplasty, which could have made the situation worse. There are also cases that require the opposite or a combination of the two procedures.

Growing old is a privilege and rejuvenating is an option.

I always tell the patient that aging is a privilege and rejuvenation is an option. When the patient is excited about an improvement in her image, I am committed to offering her the best solution and carrying it out with the best technology, safety and minimal invasion for a natural result.

Each case is different, but it is clear that what is done well begins with deciding the best technique for each patient, and this is mainly based on the surgeon’s experience. Prices and money should not be a stumbling block. It must be remembered that cosmetic surgery is something very serious, and sometimes there are complications or unacceptable results in inexperienced hands or those eager to quickly get patients through offers, or even generic centers without names of surgeons with any specific training in these aesthetic procedures. In extreme cases, there are websites with grotesque carts and last-minute offers for cosmetic surgery or medicine.

That old saying “cheap is expensive” is even more valid in this complex world of facial cosmetic surgery.

If you want more information, do not hesitate to contact Dr. José Villamarín requesting an appointment in person or through his online consultation. Thank you.