Is it necessary to perform an eyelid lift at the same time as a face lift?

An eyelid lift or blepharoplasty is a completely separate procedure from a face lift and as such, one can certainly be performed independently of the other.  However, if an individual has a relatively equivalent amount of aging that could be addressed by surgery in the face and the eyes, then surgically addressing one area and not the other can result in an incongruous appearance that may look strange or unnatural.  Typically, facial aging manifests around the eyes before it do so in the remainder of the face.  Therefore, a patient who has signs of aging that may benefit from a face lift is usually at the stage at which they may also benefit from an eyelid lift or blepharoplasty.  I see many individuals in my practice who want to first address surgically treatable signs of aging around the eyes.  If the surgically treatable signs of aging in such an individual’s face lag behind those around the eyes, as they often do, then operating on only the eyes is a good option.  If however, the face has significant signs of surgically treatable aging as well, then it is optimal to treat both.  If an individual only wishes to have surgery around the eyes but has significant signs of facial aging as well, the correction around the eyes can be performed in such a way that the final result is congruous with the face.  An optimal surgical correction around the eyes that is adjacent to notable aging that remains in the face is another result that looks incongruous and therefore may appear strange or unnatural.  These types of results are best avoided.