Upper & Lower Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)
Refresh your eyes without changing your identity. See why Dr. Sturgill's approach results in brighter eyes without the hollow, overdone look.
Midwest address
World-class technique
Look rested. Not “done.”
Your eyes are the first thing people notice — across the room, in conversation, and in every photo. They communicate energy, health, and emotion before you ever say a word. When the eyelids look heavy or puffy, they can unintentionally project fatigue, stress, or sadness that doesn’t match how you actually feel.
Here’s the problem: the traditional way of thinking about eyelid surgery is reduction. It’s not. It’s about restoration.
When the upper lids feel heavy or the under-eyes look puffy, tired, or hollow, the goal is to restore clean contours and a natural lid–cheek transition—so you look like yourself again… just refreshed.
Dr. Sturgill’s approach is simple: identify what’s actually driving the tired look (skin, fat, volume loss, lid support, brow position, or true eyelid droop), then choose the least disruptive plan that reliably delivers the best result.
Most “bad bleph” results come from the same mistakes:
too much skin removed
too much fat removed
changing eyelid shape when it was fine to begin with
treating the eyelid when the brow is the real issue
missing ptosis (true eyelid droop)
That’s how eyes end up looking hollow, pulled, round, or simply “different.”
This is the opposite approach:
brighter eyes without changing your identity
smoother under-eyes without a round “operated” lower lid
natural fullness preserved (no skeletonized look)
What Dr. Sturgill is actually evaluating:
Eyelid surgery isn’t one-size-fits-all. In your consult, he evaluates the entire periorbital unit—not just the eyelids:
brow position and how the forehead contributes
upper lid skin and how much lid shows
crease position and eyelid shape
under-eye “bags” (fat prominence) vs hollowing (volume loss)
skin quality (crepey texture, sun damage, pigment)
lower lid support (tone and laxity)
That analysis determines the plan. No cookie-cutter blephs. No forcing a technique. Just the right move for your anatomy.
Before & After Gallery
You can read about technique all day, but the truth is in the outcomes.
Upper Eyelid Surgery (Upper Blepharoplasty)
For heavy, hooded upper lids
Upper blepharoplasty removes true excess skin that crowds the upper lid and makes the eyes look smaller or tired. Done correctly, it restores a cleaner eyelid contour and a more open look—without changing your eye shape.
How Dr. Sturgill does it differently:
preserves natural fullness instead of over-resecting
avoids the “hollow upper lid” look that screams surgery
addresses the brow when it’s the real culprit (common)
If your brow has descended, the wrong move is removing extra eyelid skin to compensate. That can create a pulled, unnatural upper lid. When needed, restoring brow position is the cleaner, more natural solution.
Lower Eyelid Surgery (Lower Blepharoplasty)
For under-eye bags and tired-looking eyes
Lower blepharoplasty addresses the puffiness and shadows that make you look exhausted—even when you're not. Done well, it creates a smooth transition from lower lid to cheek without looking hollow or "done."
How Dr. Sturgill does it differently:
repositions or removes fat conservatively—avoiding the hollow, gaunt look from over-resection
adds fat grafting when needed to restore lost volume and smooth the lid-cheek junction
resurfaces the skin with chemical peel or laser to address texture, fine lines, and discoloration in the same session
The biggest mistake in lower blepharoplasty? Treating it as a simple "bag removal." Under-eye aging involves fat descent, volume loss, and skin changes happening simultaneously. Addressing only one leaves the others more obvious. A comprehensive approach—fat management, volume restoration, and skin rejuvenation together—produces results that actually look refreshed, not operated on.
Ptosis Repair
For true eyelid droop (not just excess skin)
Ptosis is different from hooding. It’s a problem with the eyelid lifting mechanism—and it requires a specialized repair, not just skin removal.
Why this matters:
blepharoplasty alone can leave the eye still droopy
ptosis repair is both functional (lid height/visual field) and aesthetic (symmetry/alertness)
catching and correcting ptosis is how you avoid “almost but not quite” result.
If you’ve been told you “just need skin removed” but your eye still looks heavy in a way that doesn’t match your skin amount, ptosis may be part of the story.
Expertise that matters
Most plastic surgeons refer ptosis cases to oculoplastic specialists—or miss the diagnosis altogether. Dr. Sturgill is trained in ptosis repair and performs it regularly, which means your eyelid rejuvenation is evaluated and treated completely, in one surgery, by one surgeon.
Complementary Procedures
The eyes age in three ways:
Descent (sagging lids/brows)
Deflation (hollowing/tear troughs)
Damage (poor skin texture / wrinkles)
Eyelid surgery addresses excess skin and fat, but often represents just one piece of the puzzle. Dr. Sturgill frequently combines blepharoplasty with complementary procedures to achieve balanced, natural-looking results.
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Many patients come in thinking they need upper eyelid surgery when the real culprit is a descended brow. When the brow drops, it pushes excess tissue onto the upper lid, creating hooding that no amount of skin removal will fully correct.
The test is simple: if lifting your brow in the mirror dramatically improves your upper lids, you likely need brow work—either instead of or in addition to blepharoplasty. Addressing both at once creates a more balanced, longer-lasting result than treating the lids alone.
Click Here to Learn More about Endoscopic Forehead Lifts
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Eyelid surgery removes excess skin and fat, but the aging eye often suffers from volume loss as much as volume excess. Hollow tear troughs, sunken upper lids, and a skeletal appearance around the orbital rim can make you look tired or gaunt—problems that cutting alone won't solve.
Fat grafting restores this lost volume with your own tissue. When combined with blepharoplasty, it prevents the "operated" look that comes from removing tissue in an already-deflated area. The goal is a refreshed eye, not a hollowed-out one.
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Blepharoplasty tightens loose skin but does nothing for skin quality. Fine lines, crepey texture, sun damage, and pigmentation remain after surgery—sometimes more visible once the excess skin is gone.
Laser resurfacing and chemical peels address these textural issues. Lasers offer more dramatic improvement for significant damage and deeper lines. Peels provide a lighter-touch option for pigmentation, crepiness, fine lines, and dark circles with a discoloration component. Either can be performed at the time of surgery.
The combination of blepharoplasty with resurfacing produces smoother, tighter skin with better overall quality than either treatment alone. Surgery handles the structure; resurfacing handles the surface.
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Upper lid hooding and true ptosis are different problems that can look similar. Hooding is excess skin draping over the lid. Ptosis is weakness of the levator muscle, causing the lid margin itself to droop and cover the pupil.
If you have ptosis, a standard upper blepharoplasty will remove skin but won't raise the lid to its proper position. You'll still look tired, and your visual field may remain compromised. Identifying and correcting ptosis at the time of blepharoplasty ensures both problems are addressed in a single surgery.
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Some patients have inherent lower lid laxity—the lid pulls away from the eye too easily or shows excessive white below the iris (scleral show). Others develop laxity with age or after previous surgery.
Performing lower blepharoplasty on a lax lid risks pulling it down further, creating a rounded or sad appearance. Canthoplasty tightens the lower lid at its outer attachment, providing the structural support needed for a safe lower blepharoplasty and a more defined eye shape.
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The lower eyelid doesn't exist in isolation—it's the top border of your cheek. When the midface descends with age, it pulls the lower lid down, creates a longer lid-cheek junction, and deepens the tear trough.
Removing lower lid skin and fat without addressing the descended cheek is like hemming pants without acknowledging the waist has dropped. A midface lift restores cheek volume to its youthful position, supporting the lower lid from below and creating a smoother transition from eye to cheek.
Why Patients Choose Dr. Sturgill
Patients travel to Carmel from across the country for Dr. Sturgill’s care. They choose him for three specific reasons:
Specialization: He is a double board certified facial plastic surgeon. He focuses exclusively on the face and neck, performing eyelid surgery at a volume that ensures consistency and mastery.
Truth & Transparency: No sales pressure. No "magic" wands. Just honest assessments of what anatomy and surgery can achieve.
The "Unoperated" Look: His aesthetic goal is for you to look like yourself—just rested, refined, and restored.
Schedule Your Consultation
The consultation is where Dr. Sturgill evaluates your anatomy and builds a surgical plan around your specific goals.
Virtual consultations are available for out-of-town patients.
Read what Real Patients have to say about Dr. Sturgill
Ready to take the next step? 
Your consultation is a planning session - not a sales pitch.
What to expect at your consultation:
Dr. Sturgill will evaluate your facial anatomy, discuss your goals, and give you an honest assessment of what surgery can—and cannot—achieve. You will leave with a clear understanding of whether this procedure is right for you.
Review your concerns and goals in detail
Receive a facial analysis with personalized surgical plan
See before-and-after photos of what YOU will look like after surgery
Have all your questions answered directly
Consultations typically last around 45 minutes.
Your Questions, Answered
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Blepharoplasty addresses the structural causes of puffiness and contour problems. Filler can help certain hollows, but it doesn’t remove bags—and trying to “fill over bags” often leads to under-eye puffiness.
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For upper eyelid surgery, the incision hides within the natural eyelid crease—once healed, it's essentially invisible. For lower eyelid surgery, the approach depends on your anatomy. When a transconjunctival approach is used, the incision is made inside the lower eyelid with no external scar at all. When skin removal is necessary, the incision is placed just beneath the lash line where it heals imperceptibly in the vast majority of patients.
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Yes. That’s the entire point. The best eyelid result is invisible as surgery—people just think you look rested.
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Dr. Sturgill performs all eyelid surgery under general anesthesia. While some surgeons offer local anesthesia with sedation, he has found that general anesthesia allows him to achieve the best possible result—you're completely still, completely comfortable, and he can work with the precision these delicate structures demand. It also eliminates any risk of you experiencing discomfort or anxiety during the procedure. Surgery is performed at Meridian Plastic Surgery Center, our private AAAHC-accredited surgical facility with two dedicated operating rooms.
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There's no ideal age—it depends on your anatomy and genetics. Dr. Sturgill sees patients in their 20s with hereditary under-eye bags and patients in their 60s just beginning to notice upper lid hooding. The right time is when the changes bother you enough to want them corrected. That said, he'd rather operate on healthy tissue with good elasticity than wait until the changes are severe, so don't feel you need to "earn" the surgery by suffering with it for years.
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Eyelid surgery is one of the least painful cosmetic procedures. During surgery, you're under general anesthesia and feel nothing. Afterward, most patients describe the sensation as mild discomfort, tightness, or a gritty feeling in the eyes rather than actual pain. Significant pain is uncommon. Dr. Sturgill prescribes pain medication to have on hand, but many patients find they only need over-the-counter Tylenol after the first day or two. Cold compresses and keeping your head elevated also go a long way toward minimizing discomfort. Most patients are pleasantly surprised by how manageable the recovery feels.
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Skin quality, true skin excess, lid support, and what’s causing the contour issue. Anatomy decides, then technique follows.
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If hollowing is a meaningful part of the tired look, fat grafting can be the difference between better and complete. Not everyone needs it, but the right candidate benefits a lot.
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This is an important distinction. The traditional approach was to simply remove the fat pads that create under-eye bags. While this eliminates the bags, it can lead to a hollow, skeletonized appearance over time—particularly as the face continues to lose volume with age. Dr. Sturgill prefers fat repositioning, which he performs in almost every case. This technique moves the "bag" fat downward to fill the hollow tear trough, creating a smooth transition from lower eyelid to cheek that ages more gracefully. He also frequently adds facial fat grafting to further enhance the contours—sometimes there simply isn't enough repositioned fat to fully correct the hollowing, and grafted fat provides the additional volume needed for an optimal result.
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