Eyelid surgery is not a single operation. There are several types of eyelid surgery, and the right choice depends on the underlying problem, whether that is loose skin, displaced fat, a weakened lifting muscle, or a lax outer corner. Each of these problems has its own surgical answer, and choosing correctly is the difference between a refreshed look and a repeat operation. Dr. Zoran Potparic, a board-certified plastic surgeon with more than 30 years of experience, performs a range of eyelid procedures at his practice in downtown Fort Lauderdale, three blocks from Las Olas Boulevard.

This guide covers five of them: upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty, ptosis repair, canthopexy, and canthoplasty. Each one takes place in the practice’s private, on-site AAAA-certified Ambulatory Surgery Center. The sections below explain what each of these five procedures corrects, how they differ, and how Dr. Potparic determines which is appropriate for your anatomy. 

Upper Blepharoplasty

Upper blepharoplasty addresses the lid itself, specifically the surplus skin, muscle, and fat that accumulate above the lash line with age.1 When that extra tissue folds over the natural crease, the eyes read as heavy or hooded even on a full night’s sleep. In more advanced cases, the fold sits low enough to interfere with the upper edge of your visual field, which moves the surgery from purely cosmetic territory into functional correction.3

The operation itself is precise but conservative: Dr. Potparic marks the incision within the natural crease, removes only the tissue contributing to the hooding, and preserves the structures that keep the eye looking like yours. Because lid anatomy varies so much between patients and between a patient’s own two eyes, the surgical plan is drawn individually at consultation rather than applied from a template.

• Price estimate for upper blepharoplasty: $2,200+
• Price estimate for lower blepharoplasty: $2,800+
• Type of anesthesia: local or twilight
• Duration of surgery: 1 to 3 hours
• Surgical facility: on-site AAAA-certified Ambulatory Surgery Center
• Recovery time: 1 to 3 weeks
• Discomfort: mild and possibly red or burning eyes
• Removal of stitches: 3 to 5 days, or resorbable sutures may be used

Lower Blepharoplasty

The lower lid ages differently than the upper. Instead of hooding, the common complaints are bags, hollows, and a visible line where the lid meets the cheek. These usually trace back to the fat compartments beneath the eye pushing forward while the overlying skin and muscle relax. Lower blepharoplasty treats that combination directly: depending on your anatomy, Dr. Potparic may reposition or reduce the herniated fat, tighten the supporting muscle, and remove a conservative strip of skin so the lower lid sits smooth against the eye.

Technique selection matters more here than almost anywhere else on the face, because an over-reduced lower lid can look hollow rather than rested. The goal is a soft, continuous transition from lash line to cheek, not a visibly operated-on eye.

• Type of anesthesia: local or twilight
• Duration of surgery: 1 to 1.5 hours
• Surgical facility: on-site AAAA-certified Ambulatory Surgery Center
• Recovery time: 1 to 2 weeks
• Discomfort: more often none
• Suture removal: 3 to 4 days, or resorbable sutures may be used

Ptosis Repair

Ptosis is frequently mistaken for hooded lids, but it is a fundamentally different problem. With ptosis, the issue is not extra skin. It is the position of the lid margin itself, which sits abnormally low over the eye and, in pronounced cases, can encroach on the pupil. In adults, the usual cause is the lid’s lifting mechanism itself: with age, or after an eye injury, the levator stretches or separates from where it attaches to the eyelid. 3 

Because the underlying mechanics differ, so does the surgery. Rather than removing tissue, ptosis repair restores the lifting mechanism, advancing or shortening the levator aponeurosis and re-securing it so the lid rests at a functional height, as symmetric as your anatomy allows. This distinction is exactly why an in-person evaluation matters: a patient who needs ptosis repair will not get the result they want from a skin-only blepharoplasty. When both problems coexist, a weakened lifter and excess skin, Dr. Potparic can perform the repair through the same crease incision as an upper blepharoplasty in a single session. 

• Type of anesthesia: local or twilight
• Duration of surgery: 1 to 1.5 hours
• Surgical facility: on-site AAAA-certified Ambulatory Surgery Center
• Recovery time: 1 to 2 weeks
• Discomfort: none to mild
• Removal of stitches: 3 to 5 days

Canthopexy

The outer corner of the eye, known as the lateral canthus, is anchored by a small tendon that holds the lower lid snug against the eyeball. When that anchor loosens with age, the corner can drift downward, and the eye takes on a rounded, slightly sad contour. Canthopexy is the supportive option: it reinforces the existing tendon with sutures, restoring proper lid tension without cutting or detaching the canthus itself.

Because it stabilizes rather than restructures, canthopexy is often performed alongside lower blepharoplasty, where that added support helps the lid hold its correct position against the eye while tissues heal.

Canthoplasty

Canthoplasty is the structural counterpart to canthopexy. When lid laxity is more significant, or when the shape of the eye opening itself needs correction, reinforcement alone is not enough. In a canthoplasty, Dr. Potparic detaches, shortens, and repositions the canthal tendon to rebuild the corner at the proper height and tension. It is the more definitive intervention of the two, reserved for anatomy that genuinely requires it, and it may accompany a lower blepharoplasty to prevent postoperative irregularities of the eye fissure.

For either lateral canthal procedure:

• Type of anesthesia: local or twilight
• Duration of surgery: 1 hour
• Surgical facility: on-site AAAA-certified Ambulatory Surgery Center
• Recovery time: 1 to 2 weeks
• Discomfort: none to mild
• Removal of stitches: 3 to 5 days

1. Which Eyelid Procedure Fits Your Concern?

   A quick orientation before your consultation:

   • Heavy, hooded, or tired-looking upper lids  usually excess tissue: upper blepharoplasty
   • Upper lid margin sitting low over the eye, or blocked upper vision  a lid-position problem: ptosis repair
   • Under-eye bags, puffiness, or a deep lid-cheek groove  displaced fat and lax skin: lower blepharoplasty
   • A rounded or downturned outer corner  canthal laxity: canthopexy for support, canthoplasty for structural correction
   • Several of the above at once  combined procedures in a single session are common, and Dr. Potparic maps the pairing during your evaluation

   Can Eyelid Procedures Be Combined With Other Surgery?

   Yes, and sometimes they should be. If the position of the brow is contributing to upper-lid heaviness, treating the lid alone can under-correct the problem, which is why some patients pair eyelid surgery with a brow lift in Fort Lauderdale. Combinations extend beyond the face as well; the practice’s price estimates page outlines how multiple procedures can be planned together under one anesthesia session and one recovery window.

   Recovery, Pricing, and Where to Learn More

   Each spec block above lists the expected recovery window and suture timing for its procedure, and current starting estimates for the practice appear with the upper blepharoplasty specs. For the full week-by-week healing timeline, aftercare guidance, and detailed cost context, see our companion guide, Blepharoplasty in Fort Lauderdale: Recovery and Results. While this eyelid surgery page covers what each procedure is, the blepharoplasty page covers what comes after. To see representative outcomes, browse the before-and-after photo gallery. Every consultation ends with a written, itemized quote for your specific surgical plan.

   Schedule Your Eyelid Surgery Consultation in Fort Lauderdale

   The five procedures above treat five different problems, and the only reliable way to know which applies to your eyes is a direct anatomical evaluation. Dr. Potparic personally conducts every consultation, surgery, and follow-up visit through the practice’s low-volume care model, serving patients from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, the Palm Beaches, and across South Florida.

   Contact our office to reserve your consultation.

   Phone: (954) 779-2777 Address: 1116 East Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2012

   Sources & References

   1. American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS): Eyelid Surgery  https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/eyelid-surgery
   2. American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): Eyelid Surgery  https://www.aao.org/eye-health/treatments/eyelid-surgery
   3. American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): What Is Ptosis?  https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-ptosis