Some choose the stitching method to give their eyes a lift as the procedure is

To make his eyes look more even and to lift his droopy eyelids, interior designer Jaryl Tng decided to have an eyelid job five years ago.

Between two available methods, stitching and cutting, the 21-year-old chose stitching, as recommended by his doctor, and paid $2,500. To touch up, he went back again in 2006 and 2007, paying another $500 each time.

“If he had created too wide a fold for my double eyelids, the change might have been too drastic. He did not want me to look too much like a girl,” says Mr Tng of his doctor.

He adds: “Your eyes are the most important part of your face. They express how you feel.”

Taiwanese singer Elva Hsiao also opted to have her eyelids stitched. She wanted to make her eyes look bigger and more expressive.

The star admitted this last month at an awards show in Beijing, China, and said that she chose to stitch instead of cut her eyelids as the former procedure has a shorter recovery time.

According to Dr Hong Soo Wan of Hong Plastic Surgery at Mount Alvernia Medical Centre, the stitch method “applies sutures through multiple small incisions to create a double fold”, while the cutting method “makes a single, longer incision along the eyelid’s crease, usually with removal of some skin and fat”.

The recovery time for the former method is about three to seven days, while it can be up to 10 weeks for
the latter. To improve elasticity of the skin, some doctors also provide eye cream for patients.

Bigger peepers had other benefits for Hsiao besides making her look better. It meant that she took an hour less to do her hair and make-up. That is because, before the stitch ’n’ tuck, she would tape her single eyelids into double eyelids, stick on false eyelashes and apply lashings of eye make-up.
 
While Dr Hong says using tape to create double eyelids is safe, he cautions that long-term usage may
cause skin allergic reactions in some people.

Both surgeries, which take about an hour to complete and use local anaesthesia, cost a pretty penny. At Mount Alvernia, prices range from $1,500 to $3,000 for the stitching method, and $2,000 upwards for the cutting method.

At Woffles Wu Aesthetic Surgery & Laser Centre, it can cost up to $6,000 for the cutting method.
 
Yet, Dr Woffles Wu says patients are still going under the knife daily, with at least one operation a day.

The plastic surgeon promotes the stitching method as “safer”, as he likens it to “stapling”.

“Stitching is easy, heals quickly and is reversible. The failure rate is less than 20 per cent and it doesn’t destroy the architecture of the eyelid. People don’t have to get into a frenzy if they want to take the stitches out,” he explains.

Another supporter of the stitching method is freelance artist Clara Chng.

The 26-year-old underwent the surgery two years ago and has never regretted it.

She says: “With double eyelids, it’s now easier to apply eye make-up. I can’t have big eyes like characters in Japanese comics but at least I feel more confident about how I look. No one thinks I look sleepy all the time anymore.”