Eyelid Ptosis

Ptosis, or blepharoptosis, is the name for a drooping eyelid. Droopy eyelids are caused by decreased function in the levator muscle that elevates the upper eyelid.

If the levator muscle is paralyzed, the lid will sit low and move very little. Congenital, or inborn, ptosis is usually muscular in cause, as is ptosis the occurs from neuromuscular diseases like myasthenia gravis, stroke, and so on.

If the levator muscle itself is healthy but its connecting tendon, or levator aponeurosis, is weak or torn, the lid will droop to a lower starting position. This is the case in most instances of ptosis occurring in older adults.

Ptotic drooping eyelids are not the same as much more common "baggy eyelids."

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