Eyelid Surgery
Blepharoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the upper or lower eyelids to reduce hooding and under-eye bags.
Eyelid Surgery near you
Charles
Lee, MD
Geoffrey
Trenkle, DO
David
Kahng
Harry
Schwartz, MD
Tsung-Yen
Hsieh, MD
Stephen
Cabalatungan
Jason
Hamilton, MD
Debra
Stafford, MD
Babak
Azizzadeh, MD
Hootan
Zandifar, MD
Gordon
Sasaki, MD
Jeffrey
Jumaily, MD
Andre
Panossian, MD
Samuel
Golpanian
Mark
Solomon, MD
David
Rosenberg, MD
John
Diaz, MD
Kevin
Ruhge, MD
Robert
Schlenker, MD
David
Alessi, MD
Amir
Tahernia, MD
Omar
Hussain, MD
Neal
Deot, MD
Mohammad
Khosravi, MD
Brent
Moelleken, MD
Graham
Ives, MD
Linda
Li, MD
Gloria
De Olarte, MD
Farhad
Ardeshirpour-Zartoshti, MD
Christopher
Zoumalan, MD
John
Layke, DO
Marc
Mani, MD
Davis
Nguyen, MD
Richard
Zoumalan, MD
David
Kim, MD
Walter
Joseph, MD
Arash
Moradzadeh, MD
Natalie
Attenello, MD
Elise
Min, MD
Karan
Dhir, MD
Carl
Truesdale, MD
Eyelid Surgery: making the decision
What the price actually covers
Honest risks
- Dry or watery eyes for a few weeks
- Temporary blurry vision from ointments
- Asymmetry needing touch-up is uncommon
Are you a good candidate?
- Excess upper-lid skin or under-eye bags
- No uncontrolled eye conditions (discuss dry eye history)
- Non-smoker or willing to pause
Six questions for every consult
- Are you board-certified, and in what specialty? (Verify it — don't just ask.)
- How many of this exact procedure did you do in the last 12 months?
- Can I see before/afters of patients with my anatomy or skin type?
- Who handles complications, and what's your revision policy and fee?
- Where is the procedure done, and is the facility accredited?
- What results would you consider realistic for me — and what won't this fix?
Verify before you book
Four operations that get called “eyelid surgery”
Heaviness around the eyes has four distinct causes, each with its own operation and its own insurance answer. Medicare's own coverage policy is the cleanest statement of the differences, and it's the framework any good oculoplastic consultation will walk you through.
| What it fixes | Insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Upper blepharoplasty | Excess, inelastic lid skin (dermatochalasis) hanging toward or over the lashes | Covered when the skin demonstrably blocks vision — see the visual-field criteria below |
| Lower blepharoplasty | Under-eye bags; reconstructive only in specific lid-malposition conditions | Essentially always cosmetic |
| Ptosis repair | The lid margin itself sits low because the levator muscle has stretched or detached — a different problem from extra skin | Covered when it corrects documented visual impairment |
| Brow lift | A descended brow pushing tissue into the lid — lid surgery alone can make this worse | May be covered alongside blepharoplasty when needed for an adequate functional result |
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R&J Medspa
Patient reviews
Eyelid Surgery: common questions
How much does eyelid surgery cost?
ASPS publishes separate averages: $3,359 for an upper blepharoplasty and $3,876 for a lower. Both are surgeon's fees only. Add anesthesia and the facility and the all-in cost is usually $4,000–$8,000, and having uppers and lowers together costs less than the two figures added, because you pay one facility and anesthesia charge. This is one of the few cosmetic operations where a surprising number of patients are eligible for insurance coverage — see below before you assume it's all out of pocket.
Will insurance pay for my droopy eyelids?
Sometimes, and it's worth checking rather than assuming. Upper eyelid surgery is covered when it's functional rather than cosmetic — that is, when the lid is obstructing your vision. Medicare's criteria are specific: visual field testing has to show meaningful superior field loss, typically documented as at least 12 degrees or around 30 percent obstruction, and the test is done twice, once with the lids resting naturally and once taped up, to demonstrate the difference. You'll also need photographs and a record of the functional problems it causes. Lower eyelid surgery for under-eye bags is essentially always cosmetic. Criteria vary between Medicare contractors and private insurers, so ask your surgeon's office to check yours specifically.
Is eyelid surgery the right fix for hooded eyes?
Not always, and this is the most useful thing to establish at a consultation. Hooded eyes have three different causes and they lead to three different operations. If the problem is excess skin on the lid itself, an upper blepharoplasty addresses it. If your eyebrow has descended and is pushing the lid down, surgery on the lid alone can make things worse by lowering the brow further — a brow lift is the operation that fits. And if the lid margin itself sits low because the muscle that raises it has weakened, that's ptosis, a distinct repair, and it's the one most likely to qualify for insurance. Ask which of the three you have, and what happens to the other two if only one is treated.