Swollen eyes? Eye bags?
Telemundo Telenoticias (August 6, 2014)
Ivonne:
Well, today Dr. José Raul Montes talks about a subject that that concerns all of us, and that is those bags under the eyes. Good Morning. Welcome!
Dr. JRM:
Good morning and welcome to all!
Ivonne:
Well, you are telling me that there is more one type of under-eye bags, and that too frequently we tend to confuse them.
Dr. JRM:
That is right, Ivonne. Most of the time, people come to the office, especially of a young age, and I say ‘I have bags under my eyes’. These are the ones that are located under the eyelashes, but there are also others under those bags, also known as lower lid eye bags, which are described as (if you see the graphic where it’s shaded in black) the malar area. This is the most noticeable area of the cheek. That is, where people will see the most prominent area of the cheek which can at times becomes edematous (i.e., swollen). What causes this? It could be age, excessive sun exposure, smoking, and some medications for lowering blood pressure, excessive salt intake, or simply genetic reasons.
Ivonne:
So, in this case, what are the alternatives?
Dr. JRM:
Alternatives? In the past there was only talk about surgery. A surgeon had to cut the bag directly, but now what I’m showing here (I have a few examples), a blepharoplasty can be done (i.e., lower eyelid surgery), and then laser is used on the skin, the CO2 laser.
The CO2 laser has a high affinity to the skin, and what it basically does is stretch and eliminate that edema or swelling. Let’s see more examples.
For example, this patient we are seeing now underwent surgery for upper eyelid and lower eyelid (bottom), i.e., the ones known as eyelid bags per se, and the malar area was corrected with this technique, using the CO2 laser.
Ivonne:
In the instance of the lower, does it always require surgical intervention?
Dr. JRM:
In that instant, in some cases, a combination of surgery with the laser is ideal, as it was in this case. This patient has a peculiarity, the bags to which we are referring -malars- have a yellowish lesion (xanthelasma) which is a very common benign condition in the population, especially in diabetic and high cholesterol individuals.
Look how the use of the laser corrected, not only the bags, but also the edema in that area and the xanthelasma.
Ivonne:
How soon can you see the difference? Because it is very marked.
Dr. JRM:
Immediately after surgery. Obviously, these before and after photos are patients who have already passed their post-operative 6-to-8-weeks period.
We can see in the latter case (we’ll see a gentleman) for whom interestingly there was no surgical intervention. The CO2 laser was used on the skin and it corrected the malar edema.
As a result, the skin looks restored once again, as it was years ago.
Ivonne:
Nevertheless, as each case is different, one must go through a consultation.
Dr. JRM:
That is correct.
Ivonne:
Well thank you very much doctor for joining us.