Sydney · Specialist Plastic Surgeon
Heavy, hooded upper eyelids can narrow your field of vision and make you look tired when you aren't. Upper blepharoplasty removes the excess skin through an incision hidden in the natural eyelid crease — performed by Dr Leo Kim FRACS, a reconstructive plastic surgeon whose daily work centres on the anatomy around the eye.
The reconstructive difference
The upper eyelid is one of the least forgiving structures in surgery: a millimetre too much or too little changes how the eye closes, how it blinks, how it looks. Dr Kim's skin cancer reconstruction practice has taken him around the eyelids thousands of times, repairing defects where preserving function was not optional. That experience — reconstructing eyelids, not just rejuvenating them — is what he brings to every blepharoplasty.
His goal is deliberately conservative: a rested, open-eyed, unoperated look, with eyelids that work exactly as they should.
Candidacy
Upper blepharoplasty may help if you have:
Where drooping is caused by the eyelid muscle (ptosis) or by a descended brow, a different or additional procedure may be recommended — this is assessed carefully at consultation.
Functional vs cosmetic
Upper blepharoplasty can be functional or cosmetic. Where excess skin measurably obstructs your visual field and specific criteria are met, a Medicare item number may apply and your health fund may contribute to hospital costs. Where surgery is purely for appearance, it is cosmetic and fully self-funded. Dr Kim assesses eligibility at consultation and provides all costs in writing before you decide anything.
The process
Balanced information
All surgery carries risk. For upper blepharoplasty these include bruising, swelling, dry or irritated eyes, asymmetry, visible scarring, under- or over-correction, temporary difficulty fully closing the eyelids, and rarely the need for revision surgery. Serious complications affecting vision are very rare. Dr Kim discusses every relevant risk with you before any decision is made, and you are encouraged to seek a second opinion.
In this section
Common questions
Typical candidates have heavy or excess upper eyelid skin that rests on the lashes, obstructs vision, or creates a tired appearance. Suitability — including brow position and eye health — is confirmed at consultation.
It can be either. Where vision is measurably obstructed and criteria are met, Medicare and your health fund may contribute; purely cosmetic surgery is self-funded. Costs are always provided in writing.
About an hour, as day surgery, under local anaesthetic, sedation or general anaesthesia — decided together at consultation — through an incision hidden in the natural eyelid crease.
Bruising and swelling largely settle within two weeks; sutures out around one week; desk work typically within a week. Individual recovery varies.
The incision sits in the natural crease, so the matured scar is generally inconspicuous with the eyes open. All surgery leaves a scar.
Commonly many years — though surgery doesn't stop ageing, and brow position and skin quality influence change over time.
Because Dr Kim reconstructs eyelids for a living. Thousands of procedures around the eye — where function was not optional — underpin a conservative, anatomy-first approach to blepharoplasty.
Next step
Consultations in Sydney CBD and North Sydney. Ask your GP for a referral if you'd like your visual field assessed for Medicare eligibility. Phone 1300 911 151.
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