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Do you have some swelling around your eyes and wondering what it could be from and how to get rid of them? Well first step is to understand if you have eyebags or festoons. A plastic surgeon would be the best person to accurately diagnose which one you have.

Eyebags are swelling and puffiness right under the water lines. Festoons are swelling and puffiness under the eyelids and the cheek area. Doctors are finding that the reasons for eyebags are mostly due to aging. Fats under the eyes become bulging, ligaments and muscles support these fats are loosening. Surgery will help to remove, rearrange fat, tighten muscle and ligaments and remove excess skin. All swelling and puffiness under the eyelids in the cheek area are termed malar bags.

Some patients have systemic disease like lupus, thyroid, etc…that cause retained water and swelling in the under eyes and cheeks. This is called malar edema. These patients can be best treated with diuretics and addressing their underlying diseases.

Some patients are born with festoons where they have extra fat under the eyes muscles that retain fluid, laxity of muscle around the eyes and very prominent ligaments or attachment of muscles and fats to the bone. These cases are called congenital festoons or malar mounds. These cases are treated with surgery (remove excess fat, skin, tighten muscle, remove ligaments).

Lastly but also the most common is acquired festoons or puffiness in the cheeks due to aging, filler injections, etc. These patients need surgery as mentioned above in congenital festoons. Not all festoons are created equal. Patients with this problem need to find a specialist to be accurately diagnosed and treated accordingly. There is no one solution to all malar bags.

The plastic surgeons at Napa Solano Plastic Surgery are available to set up a consultation if you are looking to talk about your options for the different facial procedures they offer.

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