Lower Eyelid Muscle Lift: A New Application for an Old Procedure

The world famous plastic surgeon, Dr. Ulrich Hinderer from Spain described a procedure in 1972 called muscle lift blepharoplasty which never became very popular although it was very effective. For some reason the cosmetic surgeons in the United States overlooked his work for years. In the past 5 years, with the advent of newer midface lifts, the procedure has been rediscovered and is a testimony to the genius of Dr. Hinderer. Dr. Core in fact has found that the muscle lift alone is responsible for much of the cosmetic improvement in the lower lid area instead of the skin and fat removal as has been traditionally believed by surgeons worldwide. In fact fat removal actually makes people look older. Dr. Core began performing only lateral muscle lifting for lower eyelid rejuvenation 2 years ago which involves an incision in just the lateral half of the lower eyelid below the lashes and does not invade the central portion of the lid at all. Therefore the patient has no risk of lower eyelid retraction or ectropion, as is associated with traditional lower eyelid blepharoplasty. The procedure can be done under local anesthesia in the office and has very little down time post operatively with most people able to work the following day.