Almond Eye Surgery
What is Almond Eye Surgery?
Depending on the ethnicity, almond eyes are considered more beautiful and attractive and youthful. Almond Eye Surgery creates slightly higher lateral canthus with the lower eyelids sitting just at the lower border of the iris without any scleral showing. In other words, the outer corner of the eye and colored part of the eyeball have white showing under the iris.
Many people are blessed with naturally inherited almond eye shape. Although, that is not to say, non-almond eyes cannot be beautiful. There are a variety of other factors that make eyes beautiful and ethnic variations exist. Surgical improvement may be possible for patients in Beverly Hills who have rounded outer canthus and/or lower eyelids that are rounded and rest too low with sclera show (either inherited or as result of prior surgery “post-blepharoplasty eyelid malposition”).
How to achieve Almond Eye Surgery?
Video showing Dr. Taban on the CBS Doctors TV Show discussing bedroom and almond eye surgery.
Video showing young man undergoing lower eyelid and canthus elevation plus droopy upper eyelid ptosis surgery give more almond shaped eyes.
Young woman, with congenital lower eyelid retraction and negative canthal tilt, undergoes almond eye shape change via lower eyelid retraction surgery and canthoplasty.
For some, naturally looking almond eyes can be achieved through lateral canthoplasty, where the outer corner of the eye (lateral canthus) is repositioned and/or tightened. Lateral canthoplasty is a delicate procedure which should be done by an expert oculoplastic specialist. Dr. Taban has published a manuscript describing a minimally invasive technique to accomplish lateral canthoplasty, entitled “Aesthetic Lateral Canthoplasty.”
Read Dr. Taban’s manuscript Lower Eyelid Retraction Surgery without Internal Spacer Graft.
Read an Article by Los Angeles’ Dr. Taban about his Lateral Canthoplasy techniques.
Read an Article by Los Angeles’ Dr. Taban about Alloderm for Lower Eyelid Retraction Surgery.
Read Dr. Taban’s Manuscript about Combined Orbital Decompression and Eyelid Retraction Surgery.
Read Dr. Taban’s manuscript about En-glove Lysis for Lower Eyelid Retraction Surgery.
It is important to note that Canthoplasty does not lift the lower eyelids by itself. For that reason, if the lower eyelids are too low or vertically tight with lower eyelid retraction and scleral show, it will NOT be enough as a stand-alone procedure to achieve natural looking almond eye shape. In these instances, additional procedures are necessary such as lower eyelid retraction surgery (with or without internal eyelid grafts) and/or midface lift to elevate the lower eyelids and release any vertical tension that will pull the lower eyelids and lateral canthus down if not properly addressed.
In other words, what is needed to correct scleral show may be more than just Canthoplasty. Dr. Taban has published multiple manuscripts on lower eyelid retraction surgery to reduce scleral show.
Another rare confounding factor is if the patient has large protruding eyes, which can cause the lower eyelids to be pushed down. These patients may require additional procedures.
Almond eye surgery can be combined with other cosmetic eyelid procedures, if desired, such as blepharoplasty, eyelid ptosis surgery, and brow lift.
To learn more about cosmetic eye surgery, visit WebMD.com.
What to expect during and after almond eye surgery?
Almond eye surgery is performed under local anesthesia with or without conscious sedation. It is important for the patient to be able to open his/her eyes during surgery to achieve an optimal outcome. As with most eyelid procedures, the patient goes home after Almond Eye Surgery. Consequently, patients expect to have bruising/swelling for 7-10 days. Pain is mild and only for the first day, controlled by oral medication. Patients in Los Angeles can resume normal activities after about a week, although complete healing takes weeks to a few months.
As mentioned earlier, Canthoplasty and Almond Eye Surgery should be performed by an experienced Oculoplastic Surgeon. This is to achieve natural results and avoid dramatic changes to your eye and facial appearance. Mehryar Ray Taban is an experienced Beverly Hills Oculoplastic Surgeon specializing in almond eye surgery. Dr. Taban has offices in greater Los Angeles area (Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara).
Before & After Photos
*See disclaimer below
18 year old male, with congenital lower eyelid retraction with negative canthal tilt and droopy upper eyelids (ptosis) underwent almond eye surgery including lower eyelid retraction surgery (with internal alloderm spacer graft), canthoplasty, and upper eyelid ptosis surgery. Before and 3 months after cosmetic eye transforming surgery photos are shown.
Before (left) Preop canthoplasty, Quad-blepharoplasty, ptsois surgery and 3 months after (right photo) postop with more almond shape eyes.
Before (left) Lower eyelid retraction after previous aggressive lower blepharoplasty and 3 months after (right photo) revisional lower eyelid retraction surgery with midface lift, internal graft, and canthoplasty. Note the eyes are more almond shaped.
Before (left) Lower eyelid retraction after previous aggressive lower blepharoplasty and 3 months after (right photo) revisional lower eyelid retraction surgery with midface lift, internal graft, and canthoplasty. Note the eyes are more almond shaped.
Before (left) Middle age woman with right lower eyelid retraction after previous lower blepharoplasty, now needing revision cosmetic surgery. After (right) 4 months after right lower eyelid retraction surgery with internal alloderm graft, midface lift, canthoplasty, giving more natural almond shape eye appearance. (later she would also benefit from ptosis surgery and brow lift).
Young male, complained of inherited droopy lower eyelids with sclera show and sad looking eyes. He wanted more almond shape eyes. He underwent lower eyelid retraction surgery (without spacer graft) to create more almond eyes.
Young male, with inherited lower eyelid retraction and sclera show, underwent Almond Eye Surgery (lower eyelid retraction surgery with alloderm spacer graft, canthoplasty, tear trough implant) to give more attractive almond-shaped eyes. Before and 3 months after surgery photos are shown.
Young female complained inherited lower eyelid retraction with sclera show and eye asymmetry and rounded eyes. She underwent Almond Eye Surgery including lower eyelid retraction surgery (with soof lift, no spacer graft) and canthoplasty to create more attractive almond shaped eyes. Before and 6 months after cosmetic eyelid surgery photos are shown.
Middle age male, with thyroid eye disease, who underwent orbital decompression followed later by lower eyelid retraction surgery and canthoplasty to give more almond shape eyes.
32 year old female, with congenital lower eyelid retraction and canthal dystopia with mongloid slant, underwent Almond Eye Surgery (lower eyelid retraction surgery, soof lift, spacer graft, canthoplasty). Before and 3 months after almond eye surgery photos are shown.
Young Asian female, with inherited bulging eyes, lower eyelid retraction with sclera show, underwent scarless orbital decompression and lower eyelid retraction surgery. She can now close her eyes normally with improved natural eye shape.
18 year old young man, with congenital droopy lower eyelids with negative canthal tilt and droopy upper eyelids (ptosis), looking sad and tired, underwent lower eyelid retraction surgery with canthoplasty and scarless droopy upper eyelid ptosis surgery. Before and 3 months after eye plastic surgery photos are shown.
*Disclaimer: Results vary from patient to patient. Results are not guaranteed.
