After plastic surgery or with aging, people they may begin to notice their eyes appear larger, more rounded, and drooping of the lower lids. The drooping may be severe and the lower lid may turn in or out (ectropian or entropian). This is because the soft tissues of the orbit (the bony structure surrounding the eye) enlarge with age and therefore causing the eyes to change in appearance.
A canthoplasty is a surgical procedure that addresses the droopiness of the lower lid by tightening the outer corner where the upper and lower lids meet. A lower blepharoplasty includes a canthoplasty; however, in some patient’s they do not need to address excess skin or fat, but rather only the droopiness of their lower lid; so therefore, they are a better candidate for a canthoplasty alone. In younger patients, a transconjunctival blepharoplasty can remove the excessive fat under the eye. In older patients, the skin can be tightened with a laser.