One of the common complaints that we hear is “what can be done about my droopy eyelids and will my health insurance cover it?” Droopy upper eyelids is a condition called “dermatochalasis” which means redundant or excess skin. The excess skin with dermatochalasis can droop over the eyelashes and block the upper field of vision. In severe cases, a person’s central vision can be blocked by the excess eyelid skin. In order to relieve the obstruction of vision, a person uses their forehead (frontalis) muscles to raise the brows and some of the eyelid skin. Over the course of the day this causes fatigue. One may also feel a heaviness to the eyelids which also contributes to fatigue. Oftentimes patients come in and say that if they hold their eyelid skin up with their fingers they see better. In cases like this it is very likely that a person’s medical insurance will cover eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) because the person has a functional impairment to their health and vision. A special peripheral vision test is needed along with photographs of the lids to document the problem. These are then sent to the insurance company who then decides whether or not surgery is medically necessary. In cases where the insurance company decides that surgery is not medically necessary, eyelid surgery can still be done but it is considered cosmetic and would need to be paid for out-of-pocket.
Upper lid blepharoplasty is performed under local anesthesia and takes about 35 to 45 minutes. It is usually performed under intravenous sedation on an outpatient basis. The surgery is painless. Afterwards, there is typically only mild soreness for a day, along with some degree of bruising and swelling which can last for two to four weeks. Lower eyelid surgery can be performed at the same time but this is always considered cosmetic and is not covered by insurance. Lower lid surgery typically involves removing excess fat that bulges out causing bags under the eyes. Excess skin can be removed at the same time. Lower lid surgery can take 40 minutes to an hour to perform.
If you have additional questions please feel free to send me an email at craighelm@sbcglobal.net or call our office to schedule an evaluation. For more information please call 661-259-3937.