As a person ages, the tissues about the eyes begin to relax. The skin begins to become redundant, especially of the upper eyelids. It begins to hide the upper lid fold and to interfere with placement of makeup. There is fat within the orbit about the eye that is not related to one's body weight. As a person ages, the tissue that holds this fat within the orbit begins to become a little weaker and that weakness lets the fat become a little prominent. That prominence begins to produce a shadow. The shadow and the relaxation and redundancy of skin result in the appearance of fatigue and aging. In some cases, a person's appearance about their eyes show a lot more aging changes than their other facial features. Improvement in those changes about the eyes can result in a marked change in that person's appearance.

Aging changes about the eyes are amenable to attempts to improve surgically. The surgery involves removal of excess skin and removal or repositioning of prominent fat to reduce shadow formation.

The surgery is done as an office or as a day surgery procedure. The eyes are not bandaged so the person is not totally incapacitated after the surgery. Two or three days afterward, the person may wear dark glasses and resume some of his or her routine non-strenuous activities. Stitches are removed in a week or less and makeup can be worn a few days later. There is not much pain or discomfort following this type eyelid surgery.

If a person's health remains good, the result of the eyelid surgery is long lasting.