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Eyelift Without Surgery People with sagging eyelids often complain that it makes them appear old, tired, and “haggard.” In the past, patients have traditionally turned to Blepharoplasty, a surgical procedure where an incision above the eyelid is made and excess sagging skin is removed. This procedure is usually done with local anesthesia and takes about 1-3 hours to perform. Even though it is a relatively simple procedure and the complications are low, there are still problems: asymmetric scars or abnormal healing causing an undesired effect, double or blurred vision, light sensitivity, downtime with temporary swelling and bruising, temporary or permanent difficulty closing the eyes while sleeping, ectropion, a condition that causes the lower eyelids to sag and generally requiring further surgical intervention. |
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Until recently there were no other alternatives to this sagging problem. Lasers are useful for treating sun spots, lines and wrinkles, and broken capillaries but cannot be used over the eyes because of the potential damage of the light to the retina causing permanent vision loss. However, in August 2005, a new revolutionary breakthrough treatment called the Aluma was introduced. It is FDA approved for lines and rhytids (wrinkles) to improve sagging skin and uses not laser beams but bipolar frequency energy to tighten the skin. This heating stimulates new collagen and elastin growth, which are the essentials building blocks to healthy skin resulting in firmer, tighter, and younger looking skin. The bipolar frequency allows the device to treat the skin above the eyes.
The device uses a sunction device to initially draw the skin into a tip. Then it releases a small burst of energy. Patients undergoing the treatments describe this burst of energy as a warm sensation. There is no pain involved and no pre-treatment is required. It takes about 10 minutes to perform the entire treatment with several passes. Multiple treatments are required to have the desired effect. The end result is that the treatment provides a “mini” lift for the drooping eyelids. It also improves firmness and skin texture around the eyes and improves lines and wrinkles around the eyes (crow’s feet). It can also be used to tighten the skin on the neck, arms, or even the abdomen.
The downside of the Aluma is that it does not provide as dramatic of a lift as compared to surgery and does not last as long as surgery. It does require maintanence treatments every 6-12 months.
For patients who are not ready for surgery or are looking for a more natural approach and are looking for small improvement, the Aluma would be a perfect fit. The Aluma has gained growing popularity ever since it was first introduced. It has been featured on various talk shows and news programs (see video links).
During your complimentary consultation, Dr. Tang will go over the details of the treatment and determine whether you can benefit from this treatment.
Aluma Skin Tightening procedure on KTLA Prime News |
