Double-eyelid surgery and soulful-eye blepharoplasty techniques involve in-depth adjustment of the levator muscle, helping create clearly defined, large, and rounded double eyelids with a cheerful and lively eye expression.
COMPLICATIONS OF DOUBLE-EYELID SURGERY AND BLEPHAROPLASTY, AND DIFFICULTIES IN SURGERY TO RESTORE THE “SOUL OF THE EYES”
All forms of aesthetic enhancement, from non-invasive and minimally invasive to invasive procedures, can result in dangerous and unpredictable complications if patients choose to undergo them at disreputable aesthetic facilities. In Vietnam, double-eyelid surgery and blepharoplasty are currently among the most popular aesthetic services. Although they are often advertised as simple minor procedures with immediate results, these techniques actually carry the risk of serious complications and may even completely alter the “soul of the eyes,” causing the eyes to lose their ability to naturally express emotions, psychological states, and the distinctive attractiveness of each individual’s face.
With more than 10 years of specialized experience in revision surgery and the successful restoration of more than 1,000 botched double-eyelid surgery and blepharoplasty cases, Dr. Ho Cao Vu shared: Many patients recognize that their eye surgery has gone wrong but do not clearly understand the root cause. Therefore, they continue to fall into the trap of choosing facilities that lack professional expertise and experience for corrective surgery. As a result, after undergoing repeated surgeries, the condition of their eyes not only fails to improve but becomes increasingly worse.
Common clinical complications of botched blepharoplasty include:
• Overly wide-open eyes, a sad-looking eye expression, an everted and exposed eyelid margin, or drooping and downward-curving outer corners of the eyes.
• The development of unsightly scars and contracted scars at the inner corners of the eyes and the outer corners of the eyes.
• Bulging and shifting of skin tissue and excess fat in the outer eye area whenever the patient smiles.
• Most seriously, the eyes may become lifeless and fierce-looking, completely losing their natural expression. This severely affects the patient’s psychological well-being, causing many patients to experience self-consciousness, persistent sadness, and prolonged depression.
According to Dr. Vu, there are many causes of botched double-eyelid surgery and blepharoplasty, specifically:
1. Choosing disreputable aesthetic facilities
Currently, the rapid growth of advertising campaigns for double-eyelid surgery and blepharoplasty, featuring promises that strongly appeal to the general public such as “non-invasive,” “completely painless,” “immediate beauty,” and “low cost,” has caused many patients to lower their guard. Believing these advertisements and choosing low-quality, unlicensed aesthetic facilities can lead to severe consequences, leaving persistent long-term complications that are extremely difficult to correct later.
2. Lack of professional knowledge when making aesthetic requests
Another fairly common cause stems from patients not clearly understanding the structure of their own eyes, leading them to make requests that do not address the actual problem or to set unrealistic expectations. Each person needs to understand that accurately identifying the current defects and expressing reasonable expectations are extremely important. For eyes with pre-existing medical conditions, such as congenital ptosis or myasthenia, or with a complex orbital bone structure, the surgical technique must be individually adjusted and cannot be rigidly based on widely used aesthetic models.
3. Incorrect indication of the surgical method and technical errors by the surgeon
A deep understanding of the functional anatomy of each tissue structure in the orbital region is the factor that determines the success or failure of an eye revision surgery. Most botched double-eyelid surgery and blepharoplasty cases, or cases that produce poor aesthetic results, are caused by inexperienced surgeons who do not comply with the strict criteria concerning the relationship between anatomy and function.
Aggressive intervention that breaks the unified connection between the skin, tarsal plate, and levator muscle system will destroy the natural mechanism of opening and closing the eyes. This is the core cause that eliminates the lively expressive state of the eyes, leading to the loss of the “soul of the eyes” that Dr. Ho Cao Vu always emphasizes.
Although blepharoplasty is classified only as a minor surgical procedure, it is a technique that has a direct impact on the entire appearance of the face, both at present and for a long time afterward. In reality, there are many cases in which the eyes have been so severely damaged by botched blepharoplasty that all supporting tissue and healthy skin have been lost, resulting in permanent deformity that cannot be corrected. Therefore, patients need to carefully research scientific information and choose surgeons with in-depth expertise before deciding to undergo the procedure.
RESTORING THE “SOUL OF THE EYES” — THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN REVISION EYELID SURGERY
According to Dr. Ho Cao Vu, most cases of failed eyelid surgery can be revised and fully restored. However, a small percentage of clinical cases cannot be corrected because previous surgeries were performed too aggressively: excessive removal of skin and fat pads, severe damage to the levator palpebrae superioris and orbicularis oculi muscles, creation of an excessively high eyelid crease in an incorrect anatomical position, and formation of firm fibrotic scar tissue beneath the skin, causing a staring appearance and congenital asymmetry. Therefore, direct examination with a surgeon who has in-depth expertise is mandatory to accurately assess the achievable degree of improvement for each case.
“In revision eyelid surgery after non-incisional double eyelid creation or blepharoplasty, restoring the ‘soul of the eyes’ is the greatest challenge. Every pair of eyes has its own distinct expressiveness. In failed eyelid cases, the surgeon must identify the root cause and comprehensively assess the damage after multiple unsuccessful surgeries. Standard medical knowledge may be a necessary condition, but it is not enough; only extensive clinical experience and deep hands-on expertise can help the surgeon reshape and reawaken the lost ‘soul of the eyes’ for the patient.” — Dr. Vu shared.
The golden timing for revision eyelid surgery
For failed eyelid revision cases, the standard waiting period should be 3 to 6 months, depending on the actual degree of tissue damage. This period is necessary for the internal tissues to fully stabilize and for old adhesions to resolve before accurate assessment and corrective surgery can be performed.
Patients must not be impatient or rush into revision surgery while the internal tissues have not fully healed. In particular, for patients showing signs of depression due to self-consciousness, stabilizing their mental health should be the top priority before proceeding with any minor surgical procedure.
Signs of complications
Acute complications (immediately after surgery): Infection and prolonged inflammatory edema may occur. Overuse of antibiotics or antibiotic treatment that does not follow the proper protocol may lead to pus drainage from needle puncture sites, causing blepharitis, persistent foreign body sensation, and itching.
Chronic complications (after several months): A staring appearance, uneven eyelids, an excessively deep and obvious eyelid crease that completely loses aesthetic connection with the eyebrows and the overall face; a lifeless, harsh, and emotionless gaze.
NON-INCISIONAL DOUBLE EYELID CREATION FOR THE “SOUL OF THE EYES”
REVISION OF FAILED EYELID SURGERY AFTER AESTHETIC PROCEDURES
COMPLICATION CASE OF PATIENT H.M.N
Below is a typical case of patient H.M.N, who came to Dr. Vu with functional and aesthetic eyelid deformities after a failed blepharoplasty:
- Functionally: The patient constantly experienced eye fatigue when looking for a long time, eyelid heaviness when closing the eyes, and frequent tearing — especially when focusing on one point. The upper eyelid margin was slightly everted, causing the eyelashes to turn completely upward. In addition, in the lower eyelid area, the patient also developed ectropion and an adherent contractile scar at the lateral canthal area due to an incorrect lower eyelid excess-skin excision technique.
- Aesthetically and expressively: The eyelid expression became stiff and staring, and the “soul of the eyes” fell into a completely static state, unable to change or naturally express emotions when the person was sad, happy, or surprised.
