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Why do I have ‘Bags’ under my Eyes?

 Well, you can probably blame your Mom or Dad. More often than not, when I meet a new patient who has bags, they tell me someone in their family had them.

But, the real answer is all based 100% on our anatomy. Our eyes live in a hard bone, our skull. Since our eyes are delicate and wouldn’t tolerate banging around in our eye socket when we run, jump etc…they are surrounded by fat pads. The fat serves as a shock absorber. In front, the fat is held in place by our orbital septum. This is basically a retaining wall. It spans below from the edge of the eye socket up to the edge of the eyelid just under the eyelashes.

Now that you know the anatomy, the rest is easy to understand. Basically, the bags are there because the septum has weakened and stretched and the fat pads are bulging out into your lower lids. Since most rooms are top-lit, the bulge from the bags casts a shadow. That is why you have the dark circles under your eyes! What can you do about it? Well, when people have their “eyes done”, this is what we are correcting, at least for the lower lids.

This operation is called a Blepharoplasty. It involves an incision just underneath the lash line or on the inside of the lid. The fat that is bulging is either removed or repositioned to do away with the “bags”. If an external incision is used a small strip of skin can also be removed. Weight loss will not correct the problem nor will creams or skin care. It is a deep structure problem that is anatomically based. So, blame your folks and live with them or have a Blepharoplasty!

Lee Corbett, MD

http://www.CorbettCosmeticSurgery.com

502.721.0330

All posts on this blog are authored by Louisville plastic surgery expert Dr. Lee Corbett. Dr. Corbett specializes in cosmetic plastic surgery including facelifts, browlifts, blepharoplasy, Botox, Juvederm, Restylane, breast augmentation, breast lifts, breast reductions, body lifts, liposuction,  and tummy tucks.

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