Eye-corner surgery — a small operation whose scar sits where it is hardest to hide

One phrase covers two operations of different character. We separate them first.

Medial — epicanthoplasty. The epicanthal fold covering the inner corner is opened, revealing the inner corner that was hidden. The eye reads longer and the eyes read closer together.

Lateral — lateral canthoplasty. The border at the outer corner is widened to lengthen the eye sideways.

These two are opposite in nature. That is the most important part of this page.

The medial one is hard to reverse. Skin that was covering has been opened, so changing your mind means a restoration operation. Restoration is possible but does not return the original — it adds one more scar.

The lateral one, conversely, often reverses itself. What was widened tends to re-adhere as it heals, so the result not holding is this operation's known limit.

And the epicanthal fold is not just a cover. Underneath sits the lacrimal caruncle, where tears gather. The more you open, the more of that red part shows; taken too far, the eye can look harsh, or oddly pulled apart.

This site does not write about which eyes look better. It writes that this operation is hard to reverse, leaves a scar where it shows, and is really two operations with different properties.

The scar sits where it shows. There is no hairline and no inside of a mouth at the inner corner. It usually becomes less noticeable with time, but a red line stays for months and in some people longer. Thicker skin or a tendency to scar makes it more so.

Opening the medial corner too far exposes too much caruncle. The red inner tissue shows and the eye looks unnaturally pulled open. Restoration exists but does not return the original.

The lateral one often reverses. If what was widened re-adheres, the effect shrinks, and revising adds scar. Decide knowing it may not hold in the first place.

The two eyes will not come out identical, particularly if the folds differed to begin with.

Watering or a gritty feeling can occur during recovery. It usually passes.

It changes how a double eyelid line is designed. Opening the inner corner moves where the line begins. Deciding the two operations separately can leave them mismatched.

Discuss medial and lateral separately. Talking about 'corner surgery' as one thing means making two decisions of different weight at once. Do not settle the hard-to-reverse one and the easily-reversing one with the same deliberation.

Ask how much will be opened, in numbers or drawings. The medial one is a question of amount. Opening a little and opening a lot are nearly different operations, and the larger one is harder to reverse.

In front of a mirror, press and pull the inner corner gently with a fingertip. See first whether that much change is what you want. It may be larger than you expect.

Plan it together with double eyelid surgery. The order and the line design affect each other.

Say in advance if you scar easily. The scar shows here, so that information feeds into the choice of technique.

Do not rub during recovery. For the lateral one especially, how it heals decides the result.

Settle when to start scar care in consultation.

It cannot be fully undone. Restoration exists for the medial one, but it does not return the original shape; it produces a different one. And it adds another scar.

The lateral one may not hold. Deciding while knowing that is different from deciding without. Put the possibility of more than one operation into your calculation.

The change is not small. The operation is short and done under local anaesthesia, but a few millimetres at the inner corner carry a lot of the impression a face makes. 'Small operation' does not mean small change.

Having an epicanthal fold is not itself a problem. This site does not write about which eyes are better. It does write clearly that this is a decision that is hard to reverse.

If the face is still growing, the timing is worth rethinking.

Whether to have it is decided in consultation, and it is better not to decide from one clinic's account.