THE NATION’S TOP OCULOFACIAL PLASTIC SURGEON TALKS EYE PROCEDURES

 Now that summer is upon us, and many of us are planning our summer getaways and weekend beach excursions, we want to feel good and look our best. So, it is not surprising that after spending endless hours at home on zoom meetings and noticing our imperfections on camera, post-pandemic plastic surgery has been on the rise and is booming. This year’s surgical trends focus more on facial features, and one incredibly popular procedure is the eyelift.

We asked the country’s top cosmetic oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Robert Schwarcz, who is a leading expert and has had the most focused training on this topic, to share the trendiest cosmetic eye procedures. What sets Dr. Schwarcz apart from other cosmetic surgeons, besides his skill and precision in cosmetic surgery, is that he is a dually board-certified facial cosmetic surgeon known for his truly bespoke procedures and for achieving natural looking results. To achieve this customized approach, he requests that his patients bring in old photographs of themselves to help him study the natural state of the eyelids and contours, with the firm belief that cosmetic surgery should help a patient look rejuvenated and not “pulled” or “done.”

What are the top requested cosmetic eye procedures in 2022? 

Blepharoplasty is the removal of extra overhanging skin between the upper eyelid eyelashes and brow. On occasion muscle and fat can be sculpted. I am also doing a lot of eyelid surgery with bag removal and fat grafting with resurfacing. This is my signature Triplanar Lift addressing three tissue planes the fat skin and muscle 

 individually. In addition, botched eyelid repair is 15-20 percent of my practice, and from these cases I am able to do everything to prevent retraction, and other negative results.

Brow lifts have been suggested to patients to improve the appearance of the forehead, brow, and the area around the eyes. Are browlifts on trend for 2022?

There has been a significant uptick in browlifts, and I prefer to do them endoscopically. The concept of subtlety is highly regarded and allows for a natural look; the goal for the brow lift should be to better frame the eyes 

I’ve had quite a few readers contact me regarding cosmetic procedures to fix droopy eyes. Who is a candidate for this surgical procedure called Ptosis? 

Upper Eyelid Ptosis is drooping of the upper eyelids not related to extra skin but weakening of the levator aponeurosis, a muscle which can make the eyes appear smaller. There is a drop called Upneeq that can correct this for 6 hours, but for a more permanent result, I do a surgical correction with a 1-2-week downtime of bruising and swelling.

The Fox-Eye (Canthoplasty) cosmetic surgery trend which changes the shape of the eye is exploding on social media. What is your thought on this cosmetic trend? I understand this problem can be difficult to fix if not done correctly by a specialist.

I don’t like the cat eye or fox eye procedures where we are changing the natural shape of the eyes. Canthoplasty is often done as a reconstructive procedure for tightening the lower eyelids where the lateral canthal tendon is surgically split and reattached to the bone or the lateral orbital rim raising the corner substantially can affect the natural blink rate and eventually pull away and look odd.

Dr. Schwarcz. practices at two boutique locations; one is in New York City, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan off Park Avenue, and his second practice is in Scarsdale, New York, in Westchester County. He employs the latest advancements in cosmetic surgery which allow his patients to avoid prolonged recovery times and unnatural outcomes.

 To schedule a consultation and appointment with Dr. Robert Schwarcz please call 212.396.4400.