Baggy Eyelids, The Fatty Gift Of Aging

For long, the baggy lower eye lid, which came with aging, remained a mystery, as far the reasons behind it were concerned; but not anymore. Research shows that here is one more thing you can blame on your fatty cells, which expand with age to give that look to your eyes.

A research team from California University claims to have found out the exact reason why people develop baggy eye lids as they age, specially, the lower eye lid that bears a sagging, swollen look in the elderly.

The study which was published in the ‘Journal Of plastic and reconstructive surgery’ was conducted by studying eye MRIs of 40 people, 17 out of which were males and 23 were females. The people fell between the age group of 12-80.

This is the first ever study to examine the effects of age on eyes and especially the lower eye lids.

It was found from the study that, contrary to prior belief, the theories like the weakening of the eye ligaments and herniation of fat, which were earlier held as possible reasons for the swollen eye lids were not actually the main reason.

"There have been no studies to show that the orbital septum weakens," the study's lead author Dr Sean Darcy wrote in the 'Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery'.

The study found that as the age of the participants increased there was a mark increase in the under eye swelling and baggy look of the lower eye lid. Also, was discovered in the study after going through the MRIdefine scan reports that the major factor that led to this increase in the lower eyelid tissue was an increase in fat present in the eye socket.

"However, our study showed there is actually an increase in fat with age, and it is more likely that the fat increase causes the baggy eyelids rather than a weakened ligamentdefine.” Added Dr. Darcy.

The researchers believe that this discovery of the cause could now help in a big way to find cure for the condition.

Earlier, doctors were using methods like tightening the under eye tissue or ligaments, believing that the baggy eyes were a result of loosened ligaments or breaking of the cover holding the eye fat, resulting in the leakage of the same in the under eye area. Therefore, their main aim was to either reposition the fat or tighten the loosened muscles.

However, the research has now confirmed that fat excision, or taking out the fat, needs to be a component of treatment for patients seeking to address this common complaint.

Co-author Timothy Miller says: "Our findings may change the way some plastic surgeons treat baggy eyes. Our study showed that a component of a patient's blepharoplasty procedure should almost routinely involve fat excision rather than these procedures."

Blepharoplasty is the surgical cosmetic procedure, involving the rejuvenation of the upper or lower eyelids, or both, depending on the extent of aging or disease. The procedure is usually performed on the lower eyelid and involves making incisions along the natural skin lines, to remove excess fat and free the patient of the disturbing baggy eye look.

And for those of us who are still not clear what makes baggy eyes such a big issue as that, the answer lies with the 240,660 people, who underwent eyelid surgery in 2007. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 205,764 of them were women.

Also, Blepharoplasty was one of the top four plastic surgery procedures performed in America last year. After all beauty lies not just in the eyes of the beholder, it lies in your own too.