In his Woodbury, NY office, oculoplastic surgeon David Schlessinger, MD’s focus is on everything eyes—from surgical browlifts, eyelid reconstructions and blepharoplasties to the full-spectrum of facial-focused nonsurgical treatments.
Dr. Schlessinger points out that the driving factor behind this trend is a sign of the times: “Increased participation in video-conferencing, the necessity of mask-wearing and seeing our faces reflected back to us from our screens all contribute to an unavoidable attention to faces—the eyes in particular. We’ve had a tremendous increase in all sorts of eyelid rejuvenation, and we’re doing everything from full surgical eyelid rejuvenation to blepharoplasty and browlifts.”
In addition to the increased demand for surgery, Dr. Schlessinger has also seen a surge in eyelid fillers, both in the lower eyelid and upper eyelid variety. “For that, I always use a cannula when I fill that area for increased safety and for less bruising—it’s mostly a very low-downtime procedure. We’re also seeing a lot of patients who are requesting a lot of skin-tightening procedures and microneedling with radiofrequency,” he says, adding that his current modalities of choice are the Secret and the InMode Morpheus8.
Bonus Round:
Besides the boom in requests for eyelid and facial rejuvenation, another hot topic Dr. Schlessinger has been hearing from patients is a tech-related concern: “People are looking down at their phones and other devices and not loving what they see (double chins, wrinkly necks).That’s been a big thing for people who want nonsurgical rejuvenation of their chin. For that, Dr. Schlessinger recommends Ulthera, which tightens the lower face. Ulthera can also be used for a nonsurgical browlift.
For patients who need a little bit more than that, but who are not quite ready for surgery, Dr. Schlessinger is offering FaceTite and AccuTite. “We’re using the FaceTite for eyelids and the brows; as well as for the neck and jaw.”
“Both of them are done with either topical or local anesthesia so patients can drive in and then drive home from those procedures. There’s really no post-treatment discomfort with these services and patients are just amazed at how well they work.”
