From those dreaded dark circles to the best daily skin regimen for aging skin, board certified Oculoplastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Zoumalan has the solution.
What is your practice’s philosophy? You work alongside your brother, what dynamic does this bring to the team? My practice’s philosophy is to strive to provide the best care that my staff and I possibly can for our patients. I am fortunate to have a job which allows me to help my patients. I truly enjoy the process of getting to know them, addressing their concerns, and being able to give them the results that they have imagined. My goal is to recommend the best solution to my patients leaving them with the best results and the least amount of recovery time. Being able to work alongside my brother is an incredible experience. I enjoy being able to collaborate and share ideas when it comes to eyelid and facial rejuvenation. We routinely do surgeries together, and in our opinion the best results that a patient can achieve is when it comes to rejuvenating their eyelids and face together. It has been exciting to be able to watch him grow into a world-renowned facial plastic surgeon and I look forward to what the future has to hold for us both.
What are some of the latest non-surgical treatments regarding aging around the eyes? There are many non-surgical treatments that can help improve the appearance of aging around the eyes. Injectable fillers such as Voluma, Volbella, Belotero, and Restylane are examples of hyaluronic acid products that can be used to reverse the signs of aging and stress around the eyes. Such fillers can often be used to treat hollowing as well as softening dark circles. Resurfacing technology is another one of the latest non-surgical treatments that can help to remove fine and deep wrinkles around the eyelid and face with minimal postoperative swelling and pain. In addition to chemical peels and laser treatments, we are seeing a vast improvement in skin texture and tightening with the recent introduction of combined microneedling and PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection treatments, which offers less downtime than traditional chemical peels and laser. PRP with microneedling allow the patient’s own growth factors to be introduced into the deeper layers of the skin using technology that is performed in our own office with no downtime and no discomfort.
What are some everyday solutions to the dreaded dark circles or under-eye bags? When is surgery the best option? Your lifestyle and daily habits can certainly help improve the appearance of the dreaded dark circles or under eye bags include. It is important to get adequate sleep and feeling refreshed in the mornings, limit your salt intake, remember to wear sunblock, wear a hat when you are outside for extended periods of time, and limit your amount of direct sun exposure. The use of tobacco and excessive intake of alcohol can also worsen under eye bags and dark circles. Therefore, tobacco and alcohol use should be limited. Surgery is the best option when the lower eyelid fat needs to be removed or repositioned. If a patient is not a canidate for surgery, injectable fillers such as hyaluronic acid fillers can be recommended for a patient with significant volume loss below their lower eyelids.
Your lifestyle and daily habits can certainly help improve the appearance of the dreaded dark circles or under eye bags include. It is important to get adequate sleep and feeling refreshed in the mornings, limit your salt intake, remember to wear sunblock, wear a hat when you are outside for extended periods of time, and limit your amount of direct sun exposure.
What are some of the more common problem areas you correct, and what specific treatments do you offer? Typically, the most common problem areas that I correct would be the upper and lower eyelids and the surrounding cheeks and midface area. Being an Oculoplastics specialist, I see many patients a day that are not happy with their upper and lower eyelid appearance and surrounding peri-orbital areas such as the cheeks and midface area. The most common complaint I hear from patients is that they are having hollowing in their lower eyelids, drooping of the upper eyelids, having the appearance of being tired all the time, and also having dark circles with heavy under eye bags. I offer many surgical and non-surgical treatments to help correct these problem areas. I have developed an algorithm that first helps me determine who is a surgery candidate versus who is a better candidate for non surgical options, such as fillers. If I determine that a patient is not a candidate for fillers, we start to discuss surgery options. An upper eyelid blepharoplasty can be recommended to improve the appearance of being tired, and in some cases help to improve vision. A lower eyelid blepharoplasty can be recommended to remove or reposition excess lower eyelid fat, excess skin, and can help improve the appearance of hollowing. When a patient is unhappy with both their upper and lower eyelids, and I have determined that they are a candidate for surgery, I will recommend a quad blepharoplasty. A quad blepharoplasty is also known as an upper and lower eyelid blepharoplasty but performed at the same time, leaving the patient looking refreshed and appearing more youthful.
What are some of the larger, more complex procedures you undertake? Some of the larger, more complex procedures that I undertake would be the more unique cases that I encounter. The revisional eyelid surgeries tend to be more complicated cases. Each case is evaluated carefully in order to help provide the best result using a customized algorithm to help improve the patient’s appearance but also the function of the eyelid. Revisional eyelid surgeries are surgeries that demand the correction of the eyelid position, either for the upper or lower eyelid, after a patient has undergone a prior eye surgery or trauma. We do our best to determine what options the patients have and how we can best help them, whether it involves surgery or non-surgical options, or both.
How can we prevent against aging around the eyes? Is there an everyday skincare regimen one should practice, or is it based more on genetics? Excessive sun exposure can accelerate the aging process around the eyes and the face. The ultraviolet rays that the sun omits causes damage to the elastic fibers that keeps skin firm, therefore leading to more wrinkles. Protecting your skin from the sun is very important in preventing against aging around the eyes and face. I recommend that all my patients wear sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 30 every day.
Dr. Zoumalan is a board-certified Oculoplastic surgeon that exclusively specializes in cosmetic eyelid surgery, his specialties include blepharoplasty surgery, ptosis surgery, and peri-orbital injections (upper and lower eyelid fillers for dark circles and under eye bags) in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Zoumalan has subspecialty training as a board-certified Oculoplastic Surgeon. In addition to performing his Natural Looking Blepharoplasty surgery, Dr. Zoumalan is well-recognized for his injectable filler work around the eyelid and surrounding peri-orbital area. His specialized training around the eyelids allows him to rejuvenate eyelids, dark circles, and under eye bags often without having the patient undergo surgery.
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