Countless patients consult their plastic surgeons or dermatologists for what has been called the “tear trough” deformity. The results after treating the tear trough are not perfect because there are many factors to take into consideration.

Recognizing these different factors, Taiwanese doctors have devised an algorithm to create standard treatment protocols for the tear trough.

Published in the January 2018 edition of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the protocol categorizes patients according to whether the presenting appearance is due to loss of bulk (atrophy), bulging areas, or looseness of skin (laxity).