Possibilities for correction of the periorbital zone

There are a lot of methods for correcting the periorbital zone: from banal makeup to the most radical method - blepharoplasty. It just seems that everything is simple: you came to any salon and received comprehensive advice on almost all issues related to improving your appearance. But in practice, everything is much more complicated, and the statement that only “this” will help is not always true.

Nowadays there really is a huge variety of methods for “increasing beauty and improving it.” This is due not only to the number of drugs on the aesthetics market, but also to possible combinations of their use to obtain the best results. The latest advances in the field of aesthetic medicine help not only to delay surgical intervention, reduce postoperative rehabilitation time, level out facial wrinkles and reduce gravitational wrinkles, but also give the skin a well-groomed, healthy appearance. The study and correction of hormonal changes, the creation of cosmetics at the cellular level and the close interaction of specialists in various fields of medicine can significantly prolong youth.

The rhythm of modern life and increased demands on image have made appropriate adjustments in the relationship between the patient and doctors practicing in the field of aesthetic medicine. As a consequence of this, close interaction between surgeons and cosmetologists has become simply necessary. It seems that just recently experts were arguing about what is more effective: plastic surgery or conservative methods of improving appearance? Each defended their own methods. But the time has come, information boundaries have ceased to exist, specialists have become more open, and we all know how they “extend” youth in the West.

Having worked in this field for almost three decades, I had an extremely positive attitude towards the introduction into practice of almost all injection techniques, laser effects on the skin, peelings, all types of physical procedures and much more. I was lucky enough to carry out more than tens of thousands of surgical interventions in aesthetic medicine, but the desire to minimize the traumatic impact and reduce the rehabilitation time was always my priority when choosing one or another intervention technique.

My favorite surgery was and remains blepharoplasty. Not only because “the eyes are the mirror of the soul,” but because primary contact is visualization, on which a lot depends in subsequent communication.

Over the past decade, plastic surgeons have stopped creating copies, giving preference to individuality, and in recent years they have been going under the slogan “aging gracefully.” What does it mean? This means that making doll faces and completely removing facial expressions is no longer fashionable. It is fashionable not to lose your individuality - with minor wrinkles, but sparkle in the eyes and well-groomed skin of the face, neck, and décolleté.

All this can be achieved by resorting to modern rejuvenation techniques, including thread lifting, peeling, and injection techniques. I even agree that if the nasolacrimal groove is pronounced, it can be filled with fillers and biorevitalization can be carried out. But I cannot agree that in case of pronounced “fatty hernias” it is worth adding fillers to smooth out the hernial protrusions. The introduction of fillers increases the pressure on the eyeball due to the hydrophilicity of both the drug and the hernias themselves. Patients often experience headaches, tired eyes, and swelling makes the eyes visually much narrower. That is why I still recommend blepharoplasty in the presence of large hereditary fatty hernias - it will give an excellent result, significantly improve the patient’s mood and self-esteem, which will encourage him not to lose the resulting aesthetic effect, and therefore to regularly visit a cosmetologist.

Three people must decide to undergo plastic surgery: the patient, the operating surgeon and the cosmetologist, who in the postoperative period will “increase and maintain” the newfound beauty. It is important to carry out surgery when the skin has not yet completely lost its elasticity, the orbicularis oculi muscle has not lost its ability to contract, and the state of health allows the operation to be performed without any special restrictions.

It is important not only to perform the operation, but also to prepare the patient’s skin for it. There are various methods for preparing a patient’s skin for plastic surgery. In order to obtain the desired result after communication between the plastic surgeon and the patient, the cosmetologist must have various methods of influencing the area of surgical intervention in his arsenal.

• The use of non-contact postoperative physiotherapy in the early period - magnetic therapy, ultraphonophoresis and paleotherapy (light therapy) - increases immunological reactivity and improves microcirculation. Metabolic processes are activated, the resorption of fibrin and leukocyte infiltration are accelerated, which explains the mild analgesic, decongestant and anti-inflammatory effect.
• The use of masks is justified when, due to certain circumstances, it is undesirable to perform a massage, and light compression or the application of drugs that reduce swelling is simply necessary.
• Lymphatic drainage massages reduce postoperative swelling and lymphostasis. Their use is possible starting from the 7-8th day after the operation, but the strength and depth of the effect should be proportional to the period that has passed since the operation.
• Peeling is always a priority for cosmetologists: it’s up to you to decide what suits the patient’s skin best. The most important thing is to reduce age-related hyperkeratosis, which, in turn, will reduce the thickness of the epidermis, and keratinization will become more uniform.
• Mesotherapy and biorevitalization improves the quality of the skin by improving its trophism and stimulating reparative processes.

And finally, after all your efforts, the patient looks good, his eyes glow. All that remains is to apply the finishing touches - botulinum toxin injections, contouring, peeling... And much more! Now your imagination and knowledge have a place to roam.

First published: Cosmetologist No. 1, 2017