Oculoplastic surgery is plastic surgery isolated to the areas around the eyes: the eyelids, orbit (bones behind the eye) and lacrimal (tear drain) system. An oculoplastic surgeon is an ophthalmologist who performs cosmetic and reconstructive procedures on the eyelids, orbit (bones and anatomic structures behind the eyeball) and lacrimal (tear drain) system. The field of oculoplastic surgery combines the precision and microsurgery of ophthalmology with the aesthetic and reconstructive concepts of plastic surgery. Oculoplastic surgery is a small, highly selective subspeciality of ophthalmology.
Oculoplastic surgeons first train as ophthalmologists, when they learn in details about the eye. During further higher training, they start to handle plastic surgery. They have the best knowledge about the eye and its surrounding; as eye surgeons, they are also ready to handle the most delicate of structures. This combination of skills makes the oculoplastic surgeons the best to do plastic surgery around the eye.
