Red, itchy, dry eyes are often the result of eyelid tissue that sags, preventing you from properly protecting and nourishing your eyes. At Watson Dry Eye Center, Susan Watson, MD, and her team offer an innovative laser therapy to tighten the skin, allowing your eyelids to do their job properly. If you’re in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area, and you’d like to explore skin tightening, call or request an appointment using the online booking tool.
Why would I need skin tightening?
There are two main conditions that affect the function and appearance of your eyelids, both of which cause laxity of your eyelids and an increased risk of dry eye disease.
This condition is characterized by eyelids that turn outward and most often affects your lower lids. Ectropion typically strikes older adults as the muscles and tendons that control your eyelids begin to weaken with age. As your lower lid peels away from your eye, it allows more bacteria to get in, which can clog your glands and lead to irritated, dry eyes.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, entropion is a condition in which your eyelids begin to turn inward due to muscle weakness. This action allows your eyelashes and your skin to irritate the surface of your eye.
In both cases, the soft tissue that controls how your eyelids function is compromised, which can lead to any number of problems with your eyes.
What can I expect in a skin tightening procedure?
In order to tighten the skin on your eyelids, Watson Dry Eye Center is equipped with the TempSure™ Envi laser system. Using the Envi laser, Dr. Watson delivers radiofrequency energy into your skin, which creates a mild healing response in the tissue below. This response comes in the form of renewed collagen and elastin production, which works to tighten the skin in the treated area.
The radiofrequency energy doesn’t harm the surface of your skin, making it a safer option than surgical correction of your eyelids. The treatment takes only minutes, and there’s no downtime afterward, which means you’re free to return to your normal activities.
When can I see skin tightening results?
After Dr. Watson delivers the radiofrequency energy into the tissue around your eyes, your body needs time to respond with renewed collagen production. This process takes six to twelve weeks, during which time you should notice gradual improvement in your eyelids as they regain firmness and enhanced function.
Depending on the severity of your eyelid laxity, you may need additional treatments, which Dr. Watson spaces out by several weeks to allow your skin to tighten between treatments.
If you have eyelid laxity, preventing proper tearing function and leaving you with chronically dry and itchy eyes, call Watson Dry Eye Center to learn more about skin tightening. Or you can schedule an appointment using the online booking tool.