Blepharoplasty: eyelid surgeons and eyelid surgery

Blepharoplasty removes or moves skin, muscle and fat of the upper or lower eyelids; ptosis repair raises a lid that sits too low. This site ranks the US surgeons who do it, state by state, and lays out the procedures, the cost and when insurance pays.

3,779
Eyelid surgeons listed
93,386
Medicare eyelid operations, 2024
120,755
Cosmetic eyelid operations, ASPS 2024
13,500
PubMed eyelid papers

What blepharoplasty is

Upper blepharoplasty removes loose skin from the upper lid, sometimes with a strip of muscle and some fat; it treats hooded, heavy lids (upper blepharoplasty). Lower blepharoplasty removes or repositions the fat that forms bags under the eyes, through an incision inside the lid or below the lashes (lower blepharoplasty). A lid that sits too low is ptosis, a different problem fixed by tightening the lifting muscle (ptosis repair).

Droopy eyelids can be either one, or a low brow pressing down on the lid; the droopy eyelids page explains how surgeons tell them apart. When the skin or the lid blocks the upper field of vision, Medicare and most insurers cover the operation after a visual field test (insurance rules by state).

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons gives an average surgeon fee of $3,359 for a cosmetic upper blepharoplasty, not counting anesthesia or the facility (ASPS); practices' own published prices are on the cost page.

The ten highest-scored eyelid surgeons

From the national Top 500. The name opens the practice's eyelid page.

#SurgeonLocationMedicare eyelid opsEyelid papersOn the practice siteScore
1 Dr. Ivan Vrcek, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · drvrcek.com
Dallas, Texas 806 13 87.2
2 Dr. Bhupendra Patel, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · patelplasticsurgery.com
Salt Lake City, Utah 628 15 86
3 Dr. Adam Sweeney, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · oculoplasticscenter.com
Houston, Texas 741 8 84.8
4 Dr. Kenneth Morgenstern, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · morgensterncenter.com
Wayne, Pennsylvania 475 7 84
5 Dr. Evan Black, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · eyelidpros.com
Detroit, Michigan 341 8 81.7
6 Dr. Geoffrey Gladstone, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · eyelidpros.com
Southfield, Michigan 669 5 81.3
7 Dr. Don Kikkawa, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · rchsd.org
La Jolla, California 568 58 80.7
8 Dr. Justin Hellman, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · aestheticeyeslo.com
San Luis Obispo, California 884 2 80.6
9 Dr. John Holds, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · eyelidmd.com
Saint Louis, Missouri 103 40 80.6
10 Dr. Marie Somogyi, MD
Oculofacial plastic surgeon · austinface.com
San Antonio, Texas 184 11 80

Eyelid surgeons by state

Each state ranks its top 100; the count is the number listed.

Each marker carries the surgeon's rank on this list and sits at the centre of the practice's ZIP code. Markers that would cover each other spread into a ring and move back as you zoom in. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Cities

Before you book

Cost, insurance and before-and-after galleries

Prices as practices publish them, Medicare's payment for each eyelid operation in every state, the coverage rule that applies where you live, and 1,144 eyelid before-and-after galleries on the listed surgeons' own sites.

The eyelid surgery record

Counted from PubMed and Medicare.

13,500
Eyelid papers in PubMed
3,447
Published since 2021
37,856
Medicare upper blepharoplasties, 2024
20,219
Medicare ptosis repairs (67904), 2024

Newest eyelid surgery papers

The latest records entered in PubMed, read monthly.