The History of Eyelid Surgery

Most people today know exactly what plastic and cosmetic surgery is. Granted, most people probably think of Botox or breast augmentations when asked about plastic surgery. Nonetheless, one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures today is the blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery). Why has this procedure gotten so popular? Well, our eyes can make us look older than we really are, and they can also make us look tired. Eyelid surgery works to correct these negatives attributes by tightening the skin around your eyes. Of course, there are many different variations of eyelid surgery.

Let’s take a look at the brief history of blepharoplasty.

The Very First Eyelid Surgery

The very first instance of someone performing an eyelid surgery (that we have recorded) was from 25 A.D. In certain literature we have from that time period, scholars and philosophers wrote about the “excision of the upper eyelid skin”. The first time this procedure was named “blepharoplasty” was around 1818, which is when the procedure also started becoming a lot more popular. In the beginning, this procedure was primarily used to fix functional problems involving the eyelids.

1800’s

Besides being officially named, the 1800’s proved to help increase the popularity of the eyelid surgery. Additionally, people began to realize that sometimes eyelids became too heavy due to excess fat overlap. Blepharoplasty became a common fix for this issue.

1900’s

The 1900’s saw a huge jump in overall cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures. Specifically, blepharoplasty became and used as an “aesthetic enhancement” for people. Surgeons began specializing in this procedure (as well as many other facial surgery procedures). The practice of plastic surgery continued increasing in popularity year after year. So much so, that the very first cosmetic surgery book was published in 1907. Additionally, surgeons began to improve upon this procedure during the 1900’s. Before this era, people were performing this surgery without really stepping back and even considering that there could be improvements made to it. In the 1900’s, surgeons were thinking more subjectively and began to really improve upon the methods used in eyelid surgery.

Around the 1920’s the first eyelid surgery-specific book was written and published. This was a huge step in solidifying this procedure with the public. After surgeons began practicing blepharoplasty more and more the procedure began to improve on a consistent basis.

Now

After some time, surgeons made contributions to the improvement of this procedure. Essentially, the only changes made in the past 10-20 years (to eyelid surgery) are all improvements that help avoid unnecessary complications. Accidents and mistakes are prone to happen everywhere, so surgeons are really interested in how they can provide this procedure with the least amount of complications. Additionally, there are trends with more non-invasive procedures now-a-days. We never know how things are going to evolve in the next 10 years or so, but it is always interesting to see how much we can improve in the medical field.

For more information, contact your local plastic or cosmetic surgeon today.