What Is Ptosis Surgery?
Ptosis (also called a drooping eyelid) happens when the upper eyelid sits lower than it should. In more significant cases, the eyelid covers part of the pupil, narrows your field of vision, and forces you to tilt your head back or raise your eyebrows just to see clearly. This is not only a cosmetic concern: it has a real functional impact on vision and quality of life.
Ptosis surgery corrects this by strengthening or repositioning the levator muscle, the structure that normally holds the eyelid open. It restores the eyelid to its natural height, bringing back your field of vision and improving the symmetry of your gaze.
Ptosis Is Not the Same as Excess Eyelid Skin
This distinction matters because it determines the right treatment:
- Ptosis: the eyelid margin itself droops because the levator muscle has weakened or detached. It is corrected by repositioning the muscle.
- Excess skin (dermatochalasis): loose, sagging skin with a normal, functioning muscle underneath. It is corrected with blepharoplasty.
The two can look alike at a glance, but they call for different techniques. They often occur together and can be corrected in the same surgery.
Who Is a Candidate?
- A drooping upper eyelid that covers part of the eye
- Needing to tilt your head back or raise your eyebrows to see well
- Documented loss of upper visual field
- Asymmetry between the two eyelids
- Congenital ptosis in children (requires specialized evaluation because of the risk of amblyopia)
The Procedure, Step by Step
- Evaluation: we measure eyelid height and levator muscle function, and run a visual field test when it applies.
- Anesthesia: local anesthesia with sedation, done on an outpatient basis.
- Repositioning the levator muscle: strengthened or reattached depending on how severe the ptosis is.
- Height adjustment: in many cases done with the patient awake and cooperating, to fine-tune symmetry.
- Closure with fine sutures and cold compresses.
The procedure takes 45 to 60 minutes.
Recovery
- Days 1-7: swelling and sometimes bruising; cold compresses and rest. Stitches come out between days 5 and 7.
- Weeks 2-4: eyelid height settles as the swelling goes down.
- The final result, in both symmetry and eyelid opening, becomes clear over the following weeks.
Why Choose Centro Láser for Ptosis Surgery
At Centro Láser, ptosis surgery is performed by our oculoplastics team, with the precision it takes to adjust eyelid height and symmetry while protecting the eye’s function. When ptosis affects your field of vision, we document the impact to help you pursue insurance coverage, and if there is excess skin as well, we address it in the same surgery with blepharoplasty.
