Are Your Eyes The Age You Want Them to Be?

By Deborah Turl

Our eyes can send out a number of different messages about us. They are the windows to the soul as well as the first impression we give. There may be compliments such as his/her eyes were just sparkling or in less flattering terms, such as someone with “tired” eyes.
People sometimes are labeled as having had “work done” on their eyes. That work is actually plastic and reconstructive surgery of the eyelids and/or under eye “bags” medically referred to as blepharoplasty.

In the Republic of Panama, Panama City has the global reputation for reconstructive surgeries from knees to hips to faces and for the areas around the eye. Ophthalmologist Dr. Roberto Javier Vasquez performs such surgery and reports that “Oculoplastic Surgery is an evolving subspecialty of Ophthalmology. New materials, approaches, and variations in techniques used in the surgical procedure all have a common goal: to improve our surgical results.” The more natural one looks after the procedure is key. Everyone wants to look more like they did 10 or more years ago, returning to their ‘original face’. These state of the art procedures make this possible when performed by such a gifted physician.

Ophthalmologist Dr. Roberto Javier Vasquez

Dr. Vasquez’ surgical procedure, blepharoplasty, or removal of excess skin or fat, is almost always done as an outpatient, unless it is part of a more extensive cosmetic procedure that requires the patient to stay in the hospital. Dr. Vasquez generally performs this surgery at Centro de Cirugia Ocular located at Calle Luis Felipe Clement, Ancon, Panama City. (Note: The great majority of Ophthalmology and Oculoplastic surgeries are ambulatory, but Orbital decompression, and certain tumor removal and reconstructions are inpatient.)

You may wonder if baggy eyes or droopy eyelids are ever hereditary? Some of the time, it is the upper eyelids that appear to fall and cover the top of the eye. The medical term for this is Palpebral Ptosis, a condition that can be acquired or hereditary, or from excessive stress, eye strain or even too much sun. The skin is prone to loosing elasticity all over the body, but especially around the eyes where the skin is the most delicate.

Blepharoplasty involves the removal of tissues, such as skin and fat from the upper eyelids or the lower eyelids, or both. Tissues may also be repositioned, while protecting the surrounding muscles and tendons. Dr. Vasquez states that men make up 15-20% of his blepharoplasty patients, but those percentages are getting higher all the time.

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