Dr. Jeff Popp started out his training as an ophthalmologist. But never practiced general ophthalmology.
Instead, he opted for facial plastic surgery. That’s what he’s done for 33 years, in addition to general cosmetic surgery.
An expert in eye physiology
Because of his ophthalmology background, Dr. Popp knows the anatomy and physiology of your eyes very well.
“When it comes to reconstructive work, I get selected for that reason,” he said.
Dr. Popp said there are two types of eyelid procedures. The first is cosmetic, while the second is reconstructive.
- Cosmetic: In these cases, an improvement to the eyelid’s appearance is the most important thing. Some flaws fixed are baggy eyelids and sagging eyebrows.
- Reconstructive: These are primarily cancer reconstructions. Dr. Popp said these procedures could be the most important he does.
“People have had portions of or, in some cases, entire eyelids removed because of cancer and the subsequent surgery,” he said.
“I make people a lot of eyelids.”
Dr. Popp also treats droopy or baggy eyelids that interfere with vision, injuries to eyelids, tear duct reconstruction and tumors in, around or behind the eye.
Mimic the natural anatomy
“The secret with any reconstructive surgery is to mimic the natural anatomy that’s there,” he said.
It’s hard to make a new eyelid that looks like the old if you had to remove hair follicles during cancer treatment. Dr. Popp said you can’t create new eyelashes.
“You could use hair from the head and transplant it to the new eyelid, but it’s difficult and doesn’t work well,” he said.
“The hair from your head grows and functions differently than your eyelashes. It simply can’t replace the originals.”
Have a question for Dr. Popp? Call 402-391-4558.
