Newsblurb: Surgical technique for repairing a bad blepharoplasty

Why am I posting this here? Because a lot of my readers have dry eye from blepharoplasty. As most of you know I'm not a big fan of eye surgery unless there are no alternatives, but when the sole or primary cause of dry eyes is poor lid closure from a prior surgery, I know of a lot of successful surgical improvements.

I don't have any idea how unique this doctor's surgery is, but I just appreciate the attention to the issue of bad blepharoplasty and the aftermath it leaves for patients.

Procedure Pioneered by Harry Marshak, MD, Reverses Ill Effects of Prior Eyelid Plastic Surgery
Business Wire, June 23 2009

Outpatient Procedure to Reverse Eye Irritation and Dry Eye Caused by Prior Eyelid Plastic Surgery Presented in Los Angeles, Tokyo by The Morrow Institute's Harry Marshak, MD

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Since joining The Morrow Institute Specialty Plastic Surgery® group in Rancho Mirage, CA, ocular plastic surgeon Harry Marshak, MD, FACS has helped an average of 100 patients a year overcome issues caused by eyelid surgeries (blepharoplasty) that were previously performed by other surgeons. The procedure he pioneered, the Small Incision Pre-Periosteal Mid-Face Lift for Correction of Post Blepharoplasty Lower Eye Lid Retraction, was recently presented at the 40th Annual Doheny Days conference at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, Dr. Marshak co-presented the paper at an international conference in Tokyo with David Morrow, MD, founder and director of The Morrow Institute.

“When patients decide to have blepharoplasty, or cosmetic eyelid plastic surgery, they think the relatively simple procedure will get rid of the bags under their eyes and give them a more youthful appearance,” says Dr. Marshak, who is a Fellow of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Board Certified Ophthalmologist. “What happens far more frequently than people realize is that surgeons remove too much skin and patients end up with a retraction of the lower lid. That causes an unnatural rounded look, but far more problematic, it pulls their lower lid down so far the upper lid can no longer meet it.

The inability of the eye to close properly can lead to chronic irritation, excessive tearing and dry eyes. “Sometimes patients are aware of the issue within a few months,” Dr. Marshak explains. “In other instances, the problem is initially minor but worsens over time. A year or more may have passed before they experience the constant irritation so they don’t realize the problem was caused by the blepharoplasty. The good news is chronic eye irritation can be reversed and may be covered by insurance.”

The outpatient procedure Dr. Marshak developed utilizes a very small incision in the outer corner of the eye through which he is able to raise the cheek that tethers the lid. The procedure can cure the tearing and dry eye problems and restore a more natural almond shape to the eye. When medically indicated, private insurance may pay for the correction....