Blepharoplasty (Upper Eyelid Surgery) in Utah

Eyelid skin is the thinnest, most delicate skin on the human body, and just a few millimeters of adjustment can decide whether an eyelid lift looks refreshed or overdone. Cosmetic eyelid surgery deserves unhurried, millimeter-by-millimeter care. Before you choose a surgeon for your upper blepharoplasty, ask yourself these three key questions: 1) Technique, 2) Experience, 3) Leadership in the field.

1. Technique: Will your surgeon address more than just the excess skin, and balance both eyes in real time?

Great upper eyelid technique starts with knowing that the skin is only part of the story. Beneath it lies a thin layer of loose, spongy muscle, and beneath that, two small fat pads, one near the nose and one in the center. Together, the extra skin, loose muscle and fat pads give the upper eyelid a heavy, puffy, tired look. Steven Mobley, MD, begins by carefully measuring your upper eyelids with calipers and other precision instruments. Then, with a beautiful mix of artistry and some precise mechanical engineering, he creates a refreshed upper eyelid by removing the perfect amounts of extra skin, muscle and fat. His guiding goal: when your surgery is finished, your eyes look much more like they did in your early 30s. They close perfectly, and when they're open, friends can see your lashes again, the heavy hooding gone, so you look rested and never surprised.

IV sedation is another important part of his technique. Many people's upper eyelids have subtle natural differences from side to side. Under comfortable IV sedation combined with numbing local anesthesia, you feel no pain and remember little or nothing; you drift in and out of a comfortable nap, yet wake just enough to open and close your eyes when Dr. Mobley asks. That lets him fine-tune each side precisely until your eyelids are beautifully balanced.

Stitch technique matters, too. In Dr. Mobley's experience, dissolving stitches, which the body breaks down through its own inflammatory response, tend to keep incisions red much longer, so he takes the time to close with fine removable stitches that come out at about 7 days. And instead of closing the whole incision with one continuous stitch (which is faster for the surgeon), he closes the outer end—the part that is not completely hidden when your eyes are open—with individual stitches. He places the tiny extension of the incision precisely along the gentle curve of your natural crow's feet. It takes extra time, time your eyes deserve, for one goal: final incisions so hard to spot that friends simply wonder why you look so great!

Your eyes also don't age alone. Sometimes what looks like heavy eyelid skin is really a lower brow pressing down from above. As a Facial Plastic Surgeon who operates on the entire face, not just the eyes, Dr. Mobley studies your brows, eyelids and cheeks together and gives you an expert opinion, born of more than two decades of experience, on whether an eyelid lift or a brow lift is the right operation for you. If you choose to add other procedures, such as lower eyelid surgery or a facelift, he builds them into a precisely curated plan.

2. Experience: How many eyelid and facial surgeries has your surgeon performed?

Over more than two decades in Salt Lake City, Steven Mobley, MD, has performed thousands of facial surgeries, including hundreds and hundreds of eyelid surgeries for men and women. He performs eyelid surgery on its own and alongside facelifts, neck lifts, fat transfer and laser resurfacing, so he sees how your eyes fit your whole face. Eyelid surgery is one of the fastest-growing parts of his practice, and with 24 years of serving his patients behind him and many more ahead, he operates every week at Millcreek Surgical Suite in Salt Lake City, an AAAASF-accredited surgical suite.

Dr. Mobley is proud to be on staff at St. Mark's Hospital. Readers of The Park Record voted him Park City's Best for 10 years, he has been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and he has been featured on Good Morning America, Inside Edition, People and Cosmopolitan. Many Utahns still remember him as the former ABC4 TV health reporter on Good Things Utah.

3. Leadership in the field: Has your surgeon been invited to national meetings to teach other Facial Plastic Surgeons?

Throughout his career, Steven Mobley, MD, has helped shape how other surgeons approach eyelid surgery: he co-authored a published review on the anatomy of the eyelids for Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America, taught University of Utah surgery residents for 11 years, and has been invited by the organizers of five national and international meetings, including the annual meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Global Aesthetics Conference, to teach his techniques for male eyelid surgery. He has delivered more than 7 lectures on eyelid surgery and, over his career, an eye-opening 85-plus lectures in all, and has written more than 50 published works, including peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in the textbooks surgeons train on.

As a full-time faculty member at the University of Utah School of Medicine, he earned tenure as Associate Professor of Surgery and served as Head of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Residency Program Director. He has been invited to lecture at seven academic medical centers in the United States and Germany, including Northwestern University, the University of Miami and the University of Regensburg.

Dr. Mobley and the Mobley MD practice have given more than $100,000 in charitable surgery and donations, mostly here in Utah: free ear pinning surgery for school-age children (K–12) who are bullied about their ears and whose families could not otherwise afford the operation, Raise the Future's work with Utah foster youth, and Folds of Honor and Tunnel to Towers. As a second-generation surgeon, he was raised to serve his patients and give back to the community they share.

Why patients choose Dr. Mobley for upper eyelid surgery

Technique, experience, and leadership in the field. When you choose Steven Mobley, MD, for your upper blepharoplasty in Salt Lake City, Utah, you choose a Facial Plastic Surgeon who operates on the entire face, not just the eyes, with over 24 years of experience and hundreds and hundreds of eyelid surgeries: one who precisely sculpts skin, muscle and fat, balances both eyes in real time under IV sedation, finishes the outer corner with individual stitches, has published on cosmetic surgery for men, and has been invited to teach his eyelid techniques, including eyelid surgery for men, to fellow surgeons at national and international meetings.

Why do people travel hundreds of miles for Dr. Mobley?

Upper eyelid surgery patients come to Steven Mobley, MD, in Salt Lake City from Provo, Lindon, American Fork, Lehi, Ogden, Layton, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Sandy and Park City, drive in from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada, and fly in from across the country, from California and Texas to the East Coast. His patients include politicians, sports figures and other nationally known individuals, along with business owners, busy parents and doctors. Our Patient Care Team helps out-of-town patients plan a comfortable, discreet week in Salt Lake City.