Surgery
Canthoplasty / Canthopexy ('Hunter Eyes')
Genuinely changes canthal tilt — and is a functional eyelid operation, where a cosmetic misjudgement means dry eye, scleral show or a rounded lower lid.
Also called: canthoplasty · canthopexy · hunter eyes surgery · eye tilt surgery
Verdict — mixed
Real in part — the claim outruns what it actually does.
Evidence grade C
Mechanistic plausibility, small studies, or observational data. Suggestive, not established.
Mechanism
Canthopexy tightens and repositions the lateral canthal tendon; canthoplasty divides and reattaches it at a new position on the orbital rim, altering the palpebral fissure axis.
Citations
- Lateral canthoplasty: outcomes and complications in aesthetic and reconstructive practiceOphthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery · 2017
- Recurrence of lower eyelid malposition after canthal suspension proceduresAesthetic Surgery Journal · 2019
The full read
Positive canthal tilt is a real, measurable feature and this is the operation that moves it, so the interest is not misplaced. The risk profile is what gets underweighted. These procedures exist primarily to correct lower-lid malposition, and the complication list — lid retraction, scleral show, rounding of the lateral canthus, chronic dry eye, asymmetry — describes exactly the appearance people are trying to avoid. Results are not reliably permanent; recurrence over years is documented. The surgeon to see is an oculoplastic specialist, and 'positive tilt' is a smaller and more fragile change than the rendered before-and-afters online suggest.