CO2 Laser Eyelid Surgery News 12 Sun City AZ

Welcome back to Arizona Midday. We're now diving into a topic that's not only changing faces, but changing lives. Eyelid surgery, also known as blepharoplasty. It's a procedure that gained attention in Hollywood and beyond. Dr. Justo from Arizona Eye Institute and Cosmetic Laser Center is here with more. Thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you so very much, Destry. It's my privilege. This is fascinating. Let's talk about this. You're actually a TEDx speaker, expert in your field. Tell us about your background and why you decided to specialize in eyelid surgery. Yeah, so for over 30 years, I've been both an ophthalmologist as well as a cosmetic surgeon. And as many know, the eyes are not only the window of the soul, but basically it really illuminates a person. And so I really felt that eyelid surgery is something that improved not only function, but appearance as well in a very natural way. Yeah, and celebrities, I mean, rave about it. Why do you think that is? And do you think it shapes how we think of it? Yes, well, keep in mind again, the eyes open up our appearance. In celebrities in Hollywood, as you know, there's a spotlight on everyone's appearance. But now this has trickled down to everyday folks where we can improve a person's appearance very, very naturally and not have them look overdone. That's always the concern that patients have. And it can be done very subtly, nicely with what's called CO2 laser blepharoplasty, the carbon dioxide laser. All right, we're gonna talk about that, but what exactly is blepharoplasty? So blepharoplasty is removing skin and or fat from the eyelids. Now there's upper eyelid blepharoplasty, which can improve function and medical problems as well as create aesthetic improvement. And then there's lower lid blepharoplasty that's for individuals who have those big fat pockets in the lower lids and also have excess skin. But when you do lower eyelid blepharoplasty, that's purely a cosmetic procedure. Like when you have that puffiness and there. Okay, now you were talking about the laser that you use. Tell me about that and how it's different than let's say the traditional scalpel method. Yeah, so I've been very fortunate and blessed. I adopted CO2 laser technology back in 1995. And since then, 100% of all of my blepharoplasties, both upper and lower, have been by using the CO2 laser. The CO2 laser is a type of light beam. And so you're removing tissue and sculpting fat with a laser light as opposed to scalpel and scissors. That leads to better precision, less bruising, less swelling, faster recuperation. And I would even argue that even an increased safety profile. Yeah, I mean, when I hear that, I say, yes, I would rather have the laser for sure. Let's talk about those differences between the upper and lower eyelid surgery. Yeah, so upper eyelid surgery, which is very, very common because patients may come in with functional complaints. What does that mean? They may have heaviness. They may have restricted peripheral vision. They could even come in with brow strain, headaches, eye fatigue. So when you do upper eyelid blepharoplasty to remove that excess skin and fat, you're improving them not only from a functional standpoint, but also from an aesthetic standpoint. Yeah, just looking at it. Yes, an upper eyelid blepharoplasty can easily be done under local anesthesia. Now, some patients do elect a little IV sedation or a little twilight, but most do not. Whereas lower eyelid blepharoplasty, where one is removing fat, and I use a special internal hidden incision, also known for our scientific viewers, a transconjunctival incision, that I remove fat. And one can remove skin in select cases, but the lower eyelid blepharoplasty, I do under intravenous sedation. Okay, now for people watching, why is it important to seek out a board-certified ophthalmologist? Well, as an ophthalmologist, we are highly trained in the eye. And when you're doing blepharoplasty, you're just millimeters away from the eye. So knowing the eye's anatomy and knowing how to navigate around the eyes, I think is critically important in seeking out a board-certified ophthalmologist. Okay, what about for people watching who are maybe considering this, how do we know for a candidate? Well, it's imperative that you have a good consultation with your surgeon. In our case, I do a one-on-one consultation with each patient where I review the procedure in detail. We actually show them a three-minute video, a didactic video of me talking to them. Then when I walk in the room, I review it with them again. And then we discuss their goals, the surgical planning. I go into the details of how the procedure is done because I want to treat every patient as if they're my only patient and as if they're an extended part of my family. Yeah, I appreciate that. We learned a lot today. Thank you so much. And if you want to learn more, you can just go to the website or call that number on your screen.