Prolonged use of a mask due to Covid-19 increases cosmetic eye interventions

03/02/2021

Blepharoplasty surgery, to treat droopy eyelids and correct eye bags, grows after lockdown

In these times of pandemic, the expression of the eyes has taken on special relevance. The prolonged use of a mask, due to the measures applied in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, has triggered the interest to undergo blepharoplasty surgery, the cosmetic intervention of the eyes that corrects bags and excess skin on the eyelids.

After lockdown due to the pandemic, from the Barraquer Oculoplasty Unit, which has 20 years of experience in this type of intervention, we have registered an increase of 14% in surgery of the four eyelids, which is the most demanded at the moment.

As a mask hides the lower face and mouth expression, its use has given greater prominence to the eye area, placing more importance, if possible, on the gaze. Thus, people who did not feel completely comfortable with their own gaze, either due to a tired or sad appearance or an excess of skin and fat, around the eyes, are looking for ways to improve their appearance.

The coordinator of the Barraquer Oculoplasty Unit, Dr. Gorka Martínez Grau, also president of the Spanish Society of Ocular and Orbital Plastic Surgery (SECPOO), highlights that the use of the mask "has given greater importance to the state of the eye in our environment".

Increased interest among men

Blepharoplasty surgery is the most widely used method to correct bags and treat the eyelids. It is an outpatient intervention -which does not require admission-, fast and safe, as long as it is performed by ophthalmologists specialized in ocular plastic surgery.

There are three types of blepharoplasty interventions: the one that treats upper eyelids, including or not the intervention of the eyebrow, with the aim of eliminating excess skin and fat to correct sagging and drooping and reduce the expression of sadness or fatigue; that of the lower eyelids, to eliminate prominent bags or dark circles, which denote a fatigued facial expression; and a last one that combines the previous two to completely rejuvenate the look.

Typically, patients who undergo this surgery "are between 35 and 70 years old and respond to very different social profiles, although in most cases, brandish the use of the mask as the main reason it has led them to make this decision ”, according to Dr. Martínez Grau.

In addition, in recent years, more and more men are interested in having these interventions. Currently, 30% of those who undergo these surgeries are men, compared to 70% women, while, 5 years ago, the proportion was 10% men and 90% women.

The Barraquer Oculoplasty Unit

Blepharoplasty surgery is performed by the team of the Oculoplasty Unit of the Barraquer Ophthalmology Center, led by Dr. Gorka Martínez Grau, who in addition to being president of the SECPOO is a founding member of the Panamerican Society of Oculoplasty, a member of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology, the Spanish Strabismus Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Panamerican Society of Ophthalmology.

Recently,  Dr. Sandra Planella, an ophthalmologist specialized in the areas of Orbit and Oculoplasty and Ocular Oncology, who has extensive experience in the field of ocular plastic surgery has joined the Barraquer Center.