Blepharoplasty (Eye Lift)

  Quick Facts

It's been said that the eyes are the gateway to our soul. Unfortunately, it seems they're also the gateway to aging. Preceded only by complaints of diminishing vitality of the skin, eye appearance seems to be the first sign of aging my patients find displeasing. Excessive folds of eyelid skin make you look older and more tired than you feel. People may ask if you're in a bad mood because you look grumpy. In my opinion and experience, if we can stay on top the eyes and keep them open, bright and youthful looking…….. so goes the rest of the face.     

Patients expect blepharoplasty to be more of an inconvenience than it is. I think this is because we all agree our eyes are so sensitive, and the eyeball is, but this surgery deals with eyelid skin, not the eyeball which is protected during surgery. 

Blepharoplasty, is an outpatient procedure done while you are asleep.  The purpose is to remove excessive skin in the upper and lower eyelids. Sometimes fat is also removed and a muscle may need repositioned to achieve the best look. This procedure won't necessarily remove all crow’s feet or dark circles and it won't lift sagging brows. Blepharoplasty can be done alone or in conjunction with other facial procedures such as browlift or facelift.  As a patient continues to age it may need to be repeated.

The upper eyelid lift is a precision procedure performed by removing excessive skin through an incision positioned in the eyelid crease. The incision is closed with a special suture, primarily underneath the skin, and covered with a small strip of tape called a steristrip. There are no bandages. The lower eyelid is done in a similar manner except the incision is tucked in near the lower lash line. It takes approximately 1/2 hour for each eyelid.

Once you have recovered from surgery, you may go home but you will need a driver and someone to stay the night with you and bring you to the office for your 24 hour checkup the next day. You can expect some swelling and bruising. It's a good idea to bring dark glasses since you may be light sensitive. Sleep with the head elevated. Keeping cool compresses on the eyes as directed which will minimize swelling and discomfort.

We will call pain and antibiotic prescriptions to your pharmacy before surgery. Patients usually don't complain about this particular procedure being terribly painful but there's no question it's annoying for a few days and, just like any other surgery, there's some element of postoperative discomfort. The sutures are usually removed in 5-7 days. After the sutures are out you can start wearing makeup. Most people are back to work, etc., in 5-10 days which mostly depends on just how private you want to be. You're never really incapacitated, and after the first three days, you may gradually resume all normal activity except heavy lifting and straining which should be avoided for a couple of weeks.



                               
 

At the time of your first consultation, I'll take a medical history. I'll need to know if you take any medications or have any problems with your thyroid, dry eye, uncontrolled blood pressure or other problems with your eyes such as glaucoma. Since aspirin acts as a blood thinner which will cause more bleeding and bruising, please avoid all aspirin products 10 days before surgery. Of course, smoking stands the chance of diminishing the success, or prolonging the healing, of any surgery.

All surgery has some inherent risk. The typical things you're advised of whether you’re having a baby by C-section or your gall bladder out, i.e., infection, bleeding, hematoma, bruising, swelling, etc. Blepharoplasty rarely produces any complications. In fact, I haven't seen any in my career; however, there are a few things unique to this procedure you should be aware of.

As with any cosmetic procedure, the first possibility is dissatisfaction. We anticipate and hope the results will meet your expectations but that's really a guarantee no surgeon can make. All surgery leaves scars. We place these scars where they are generally inconspicuous and rarely detectable; nevertheless, all scars are permanent and not totally predictable. We are operating on the skin, not the eyeball so interference with vision would be unexpected. Blindness, although very rare, has been reported in the literature. When the facts are examined, this has usually been related to an inadequately trained, inexperience non plastic surgeon, poor patient selection or being overly aggressive in treatment of large lower eyelid fat bulges. Even the lesser complications are quite rare and usually temporary. They would include, over correction which might cause inadequate lid closure, pulling or dry eye. On the other hand, you may not think I did enough. I'm happy to discuss any concerns you might have openly and honestly. Most patients are delighted with their results.

Blepharoplasty won’t dramatically change your life. In most cases, with a little makeup and a couple of fibs, it's easier to be private than you might think. Friends, co- workers, etc., may offer vague compliments but it's rare for anyone to notice specific changes in your appearance. The more youthful, rested, alert look you achieve will benefit you for years. For many, once will be enough. Others may want the procedure repeated later in life. Although the results are permanent, we don't stop the aging process…………..darn. That's OK because, for most of us, it's not that we want to necessarily look years and years younger, we just don't want to be ahead of the curve. Again, we're back to…… being the best we can with what we have to work with, aren't we?