What is 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.

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.”

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).

Next, read about Eye Shape Change procedures.