UCLA Doctors Research Undereye Bags

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers have reported that fat expansion in the eye socket is the primary cause of undereye bags. The researchers, therefore, claim that to get rid of such bags, fat excision is necessary.  

 In the September issue the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Sean Darcy, MD, and his team examine the anatomy of multiple subjects to determine what happens to the lower eyelid with age. In the process, the researchers also measured what happens to the face with age using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

According to the researchers, many believe that the amount of fat in the eye socket does not change but the cover that holds the fat in place, the orbital septum, is weakened or broken and fat slips out. They found that there is an increase in fat with age, and it is more likely that the fat increase causes the baggy eyelids rather than a weakened ligament.

The study looked at MRIs of 40 subjects (17 males and 23 females) between the ages of 12 and 80. The findings showed that the lower eyelid tissue increased with age and that the largest contributor to this size increase was fat increase. The researchers believe that their findings will change the way undereye bags are treated. For more information, visit www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=561&action=detail&ref=1081.

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