Routine Vision Testing Results in Growing Number of Eye Lifts

Routine Vision Testing Results in Growing Number of Eye Lifts

Reading glasses, cataracts, and glaucoma are typical problems seen by eye doctors around the world as people age, but I regularly see a problem that appears on the outside of the eyes. The eyelids and brow begins to sag as gravity sets – a problem I have treated for more than a decade with a cosmetic surgery, not covered by insurance. However, a growing number of patients are having insurance cover the procedure to repair drooping eyelids because this excess, sagging skin is impairing their vision.

As we age, the elastic tissue around the eyes begins to lose its springy, rubber band-like quality. This allows pockets of fat to form, giving the appearance of puffy eyes. What’s more, the skin around the eyes stretches out, and muscles weaken – which causes fat to accumulate, giving eyes their droopy and saggy appearance.

If this happened overnight, patients would come in frantic that their peripheral vision was gone. But, like everything else with age, this change is gradual. Patients often don’t realize they have a medical concern until they talk to a specialist, like me - a fellowship-trained Ocular Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. This correction is a functional surgery, not just a cosmetic surgery, if their visual field is affected.

A routine visual field test helps determine when sagging eyelids become a medical issue. This quick, painless test shows doctors how much of a patients visual field is blocked and then repeated, with the sagging tissue held out of the way, to illustrate how much vision may be restored following surgery.

Most insurance companies, including Medicare, will cover the testing. Experienced doctors can interpret the visual field results and understand insurance criteria to determine what degree of improvement may be gained and when insurance will likely pay for the procedure. The procedure, definitively, continues gaining popularity as a medical issue.

I am a uniquely qualified cosmetic surgeon - one of only 18 others in Michigan with his certifications and expertise. As a fellowship-trained cosmetic surgeon, I specialize in laser eyelid rejuvenation and revision procedures to correct less than desirable outcomes of other surgeons. For more than fifteen years, I have successfully transformed my patient’s visions of beauty into reality by sculpting sagging skin, redefining drooping jowls, renewing facial contours, and improving the appearance of aging, sun damaged and flawed skin.