Dr. Malena Amato, MD

Training and board certification

• Board certified (American Board of Ophthalmology is not named on this page; the practice's page refers to "a board certified ASOPRS trained specialist").
• Member: American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), American Academy of Ophthalmology, Women in Ophthalmology, SEE International, International Medical Relief Foundation.
• Clinical faculty at Dell Medical School; the page calls her both "Adjunct Clinical Professor" (narrative text) and "Assistant Clinical Faculty" (Professional Societies list).
• Former president, Austin Ophthalmology Society.

Eyelid surgery work

Procedure pages generally describe "Dr. Amato and Dr. Somogyi" jointly rather than Dr. Amato individually.

• Upper blepharoplasty. Incision hidden in the natural eyelid crease; excess skin and fat removed, muscles adjusted for ptosis if present; often combined with brow lift (source).
• Lower blepharoplasty. Fat removed or repositioned through a lash-line or transconjunctival incision; the lateral canthal tendon is tightened in older patients to prevent lid malposition (source).
• Asian blepharoplasty (double eyelid surgery). Creates a pretarsal crease and removes excess fat/skin; a less invasive minimal-incision technique is used for patients with a partial existing crease (source).
• Canthoplasty. Tightens or repositions the lateral canthal tendon for lower-lid laxity, downturned corners or ectropion; often combined with lower blepharoplasty (canthoplasty).
• Eyelid revision. Scar release, CO2 fractional laser scar treatment, ptosis correction from under-correction, and skin or fat grafting for over-corrected eyelids (source).
• Brow lift. Endoscopic and direct brow lift techniques, often combined with blepharoplasty (source).
• Ptosis repair. Levator muscle shortening under local anesthesia/sedation for adults; forehead sling surgery for children with poorly developed lifting muscle (source).

Other procedures

Buccal fat removal, cosmetic facelift, facial fat transfer, mid-facelift, mini-facelift, neck lift, scar revision, and medical spa treatments (Botox/Dysport/Xeomin, dermal fillers, Sculptra, Kybella, laser facial resurfacing, liquid facelift, TCA peel, Latisse, microneedling, skin care); reconstructive services for dry eyes, eye removal/prosthetic eyes, ectropion/entropion, eyelid cancer/Mohs reconstruction, facial spasm/paralysis, orbital tumors, trauma, thyroid eye disease and tearing/lacrimal disorders (austinface.com).

Insurance and cost

Upper blepharoplasty "can be considered a medically necessary procedure if the extra skin overhangs your eyelids and reduces peripheral vision," and the practice provides documentation for insurance review (source). Ptosis repair "is often considered medically necessary"; the practice supplies evaluation and photographs for insurance submission (source). In-network carriers listed include Medicare Part B, Medicaid, Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and Tricare (insurance). No procedure prices are published.

Recovery

• Final result. Upper blepharoplasty: faint incision scar fades after about six months; final healing is about a year, with mild scar improvement possible up to two years (source).
• Exercise. Upper blepharoplasty: avoid rigorous activity, bending and heavy lifting the first 1-2 weeks (same page).
• Bruising. Lower blepharoplasty: swelling and bruising gradually dissipate over about three weeks (source).
• Back to work. Lower blepharoplasty: most patients resume work 1-2 weeks after surgery (same page).
• Exercise. Lower blepharoplasty: normal exercise resumes 2-3 weeks after surgery; avoid swimming for one month (same page).
• Final result. Blepharoplasty or facial surgery final result typically shows 6-12 months after surgery (same page).