Guide:

• What is a skin pinch blepharoplasty?
• What happens during a skin pinch?
• How does pinch blepharoplasty differ from traditional blepharoplasty?
• Skin Pinch Blepharoplasty Recovery: What To Expect
• Am I a good candidate for a skin pinch blepharoplasty?
• Benefits of the skin pinch technique

The eyes are an incredibly prominent feature unique to every person’s face. Our eyes show much of our emotions, character, and liveliness, and when they lose their sparkle due to signs of aging around them, we stop feeling like ourselves and seek ways to rejuvenate our youthful appeal. Say goodbye to crepiness and sagging skin around your eyes with eyelid surgery.

If you visit Dr. Kaplan’s office with concerns over skin laxity, puffiness, and wrinkles around the eyes, he may recommend some form of blepharoplasty or eyelid surgery. Blepharoplasty restores youth and vitality to the eyes and can also improve a patient’s vision if impaired by sagging skin from their upper eyelids.

Some people want to rejuvenate their eyes by removing excess skin and fine lines but are not ready for a procedure as invasive as traditional eyelid surgery. For a more minimally invasive way to get a lifted, refreshed appearance with the ability to express your emotions in full, the skin pinch blepharoplasty may be a life-changing procedure for you.

What is a skin pinch blepharoplasty?

A skin pinch blepharoplasty, which is less invasive than the traditional blepharoplasty, can restore youthful vitality and alertness to the eye area. During a pinch blepharoplasty, Dr. Kaplan removes excess skin and tightens the upper and lower eyelids without altering the surrounding fat pads or muscles.

What happens during a skin pinch?

The procedure is performed in the office using local anesthesia, and patients are awake. It targets the same issues as a traditional blepharoplasty but on a less intense scale. Patients can expect improved skin laxity, wrinkles, and fine lines afterwards.

Some plastic surgeons only focus on the lower eyelids during pinch blepharoplasty. However, due to Dr. Kaplan’s years of experience and dedication, we can offer the removal of excess skin from both the upper and lower eyelids during the procedure. During your initial consultation you will have the chance to ask all necessary questions before a blepharoplasty procedure.

Watch a live skin pinch blepharoplasty (warning, there’s some graphic content):

How does pinch blepharoplasty differ from traditional blepharoplasty?

A pinch blepharoplasty involves the removal of excess skin from the eyelids. By comparison, a traditional blepharoplasty goes a few steps further by adjusting the underlying tissues and muscles.

As such, blepharoplasty results using the pinch technique are similar to those following a traditional blepharoplasty but on a less dramatic scale.

Skin Pinch Blepharoplasty Recovery: What To Expect

You will need less time to recover from a pinch blepharoplasty, because it is a less invasive procedure that does not involve altering the tissues and muscles beneath the skin, whereas the recovery from a traditional blepharoplasty will take much longer. Immediately after your skin pinch blepharoplasty, Dr. Kaplan will provide you with any necessary medications. You’ll need to regularly apply these to the surgical site for the first 1-2 weeks following the procedure.

It is normal to have slight bruising and swelling after your pinch blepharoplasty. This bruising and swelling should fade within one to two weeks of surgery and is much less dramatic than following a traditional blepharoplasty.

No matter which eyelid procedure you choose, you should allow your body time to properly heal and ensure you put your health and well-being first after the surgery. Avoid strenuous activities and driving if your vision has been affected until your surgeon has advised it is safe to do so. After traditional eyelid surgery, it is normal for vision to be blurry as the deeper layers of the eyelid are affected. Vision can also be affected following a skin pinch.

Learn more about the different methods of eyelid surgery available at The Kaplan Center.

Am I a good candidate for a skin pinch blepharoplasty?

If you’re seeking relatively moderate improvement to your eye area and don’t feel a more invasive approach is necessary, you may be a good candidate for a skin pinch blepharoplasty. Young patients wanting to stay ahead of the aging process by targeting early, minor aging signs before they become more serious are usually good candidates.

Additionally, to be an ideal candidate for skin pinch blepharoplasty, it’s important that you have enough excess skin in the lower lid to remove without compromising the strength of the lid, according to RealSelf.

Meanwhile, good candidates for a traditional blepharoplasty are typically at least 35 years old, unless hereditary features or overexposure to environmental factors, such as the sun, lead younger patients to have significant aging signs around their eyes.

If your eyelid concerns are more than mild loose skin and wrinkles, your condition may be beyond the stage where a pinch eyelid procedure could address the issue. Pinch blepharoplasty is best for a slight touch-up to correct moderate skin laxity. When you start seeing signs that you need a traditional blepharoplasty, for example when aging changes go beyond the skin’s surface, it may be time to go straight toward a traditional eyelid surgery to address your concerns. On the other hand, if your concerns are simply minor cases of crow’s feet and other fine lines, they could be addressed through non-surgical options like injectable filler.

To summarize, characteristics of suitable candidates for skin pinch blepharoplasty include:

• Someone younger with mild signs of aging eyes that they want to target and rejuvenate before they worsen
• Have moderate excess or loose skin above or below the eyes
• They have realistic expectations of the results
• Are not suffering from any eye-related medical issues
• Are in overall good health
• Are prepared to follow Dr. Kaplan’s recovery advice

Benefits of the skin pinch technique

When you are at the stage where fillers are insufficient to address your concerns but at this time, feel a traditional blepharoplasty is unnecessary, a pinch blepharoplasty may be the solution. This procedure could help you find newfound confidence during this “in-between” phase.

According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, skin pinch blepharoplasty can be paired safely with laser resurfacing as it does not undermine the skin.

Advantages of skin pinch:

• Improvement in skin laxity around the eyes
• Rejuvenates the eyes and promotes a more awake, alert appearance
• Less downtime than traditional blepharoplasty
• Removes excess skin without undermining
• More predictable recovery with less downtime
• Option of combining with laser resurfacing in some cases
• Helping to reduce the appearance of wrinkles
• Lower risk of scarring to the underlying layers of the eyelid