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It's clear that your eyelids and eyes are very central to your appearance. Asians are unique in that their facial shape, the eyes, nose and overall sizes tends to be different from Caucasians. Approximately 50 percent of all Asians are born with the "Single eyelid" type, namely without an upper eyelid crease, while the rest are born with an upper lid crease. The latter type is traditionally called the "double eyelid" type. Asian eyelid crease are quite different from the Caucasians' in terms of length, shape and height.
For the last fifty years, double eyelid surgery ranks as the most frequently performed aesthetic plastic surgery in Asia and among Asians living in America. Although there are many attractive individuals that have the single eyelid type, many Asians desire to have the double eyelid crease, giving an overall impression of a larger appearing eyelid opening. Among women, this makes it easier to apply their eye makeup.
In our practices, one hundred percent of Asians who seek to have this procedure wants to have their double eyelid crease to look natural and of the Asian configuration.
"From having performed double eyelid surgery since 1981, and teaching the surgical techniques to other doctors for the same period, I honestly do not believe that most of the Asian patients are wanting to look like Westerners or their Caucasian friends. Rather, they want to retain their Asian features with the addition of an aesthetically pleasing Asian eyelid crease, just like their Asian friends or siblings." {Dr. W.P.D. Chen, M.D., F.A.C.S.}
A: Asian Blepharoplasty® is a patented surgical method designed by William P. Chen, M.D., F.A.C.S. of Irvine, California for the specific creation of a double eyelid crease over the upper eyelid for an Asian. In 1987, Dr. Chen published an article in a medical journal (Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery)--titled "Asian Blepharoplasty - Anatomy and Technique", describing his specialized method of performing this surgery in Asians.
One of the main reason for doing so is to point out the completely different ways of performing such procedure in Asians as compared to Caucasians. Approximately one in three patients that come to us are those who have had surgery done elsewhere by other doctors and who needed further correction. Since then, over the last two decades, Dr.Chen has published various book chapters and five surgery textbooks, further elaborating on his techniques of double eyelid surgery via Asian Blepharoplasty.
The procedure is quite modest compared to other plastic surgery. It involves removing a small amount of excessive skin (depending on the age of the patient, more may be removed), some tissue under the skin, and possibly a small amount of fat pads. The technical demands and details are in the design of the double eyelid crease, and the technical skills required to heal the incision wound together in a permanent fashion. The incision line is hidden in the newly created eyelid crease.
Initially the crease will look slightly higher than expected but then, over a one to two months period, it will achieve an ideal level and shape. Any detailed questions you may have regarding the immediate post-surgical period and the normal steps of healing will be explained to you at the time of your private consultation.
Most of our patients have this procedure performed on an outpatient basis (same day surgery) where you return home after the procedure.This allows us to provide the best medical care in terms of electronic monitoring, equipments and anesthetics. You may direct any questions to our office staff or myself at the time of the consultation. Occasionally the insurance may cover the procedure if there is severe skin excess to the point that vision is impaired.
If you feel that you may benefit from this double eyelid crese procedure, we will be happy to meet with you for a Free Private Consultation. At this visit, Dr.Chen will be able to give you a clearer idea of what results you might expect, based on your unique condition and specific needs. You will also be able to look at photographs of some of our previous patients, review and ask any questions you may have about Asian Blepharoplasty®. You can also fill out the form on the Contact Us page, and we will contact you as quickly as possible.
For patients who cannot take advantage of a face-to-face consultation, we do offer preliminary video chat appointments with Dr. Chen, using Skype or FaceTime. To do so, please call our office to set up an appointment.
Frequently we have patients visiting us from overseas, Asia, Hawaii and other states along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. We are close to the John Wayne International Airport in Orange County (SNA, 10 minutes to our Irvine clinic) and the Long Beach Airport (LGB, 30 minutes to our Irvine clinic). Click here to find out more information about our V.I.P. (Very Important Patients) Services for out-of-town guests.
For patients who cannot take advantage of a face-to-face consultation, we do offer preliminary video chat appointments with Dr. Chen, using Skype or FaceTime. To do so, please call our office to set up an appointment.