Dr. John Burroughs is a cosmetic and reconstructive oculofacial plastic surgeon. Many of his patients are bothered by lower eyelid fat “bags” that have herniated forward as an age-related change. This is very cosmetically bothersome to many patients as it can give the appearance of looking tired/haggard. Up to this time surgery has been the main-stay to address these cosmetic issues through fat removal. repositioning, and sculpting. Sometimes dermal fillers can be placed to mask the bags by making the junction between the lower eyelid bag and the cheek more smooth. A new ointment is being developed and is undergoing trials to reduce these fatty bags. This could be very helpful for some patients that have very prominent eyelid bagginess from excessive fat herniation.
Many questions remain, however, as will the effect be safe, permanent, and uniform. Furthermore, some patients need the fat to maintain a youthful eyelid/cheek appearance as our faces age we lose fat in many areas of our face and in others it become more prominent or shifted in its normal anatomic location. Some patients for optimal lower eyelid restoration also need skin rejuvenation through a chemical peel or laser peel, and some patients benefit from conservative skin removal and tightening of the lower eyelid muscle and simply removing or “dissolving” fat won’t help these aspects. Additional information about this topical ointment study can be found at the following link. Hundreds of before and after photos of Dr. Burroughs’ surgical patients can be viewed at his website as well as a surgical textbook chapter he published on cosmetic lower eyelid surgery.