Eyelid Surgery

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) is a procedure to remove excess tissue and, possibly, muscle from the upper and lower eyelids. Eyelid surgery can correct drooping upper lids and puffy bags below your eyes – features that make you look older and more tired than you feel, and may even interfere with your vision. Blepharoplasty can be done alone, or in conjunction with other facial surgery procedures such as a facelift or brow lift.

Most patients are over 35, but if droopy, baggy eyelids run in your family, you may decide to have eyelid surgery at a younger age.

Eyelid surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia – which numbs the area around your eyes – along with oral or intravenous sedatives. It can also be performed under general anesthesia.  Blepharoplasty usually takes one to two hours, depending on the extent of the surgery. If you’re having all four eyelids done, the surgeon will probably work on the upper lids first, then the lower ones. In a typical procedure, the surgeon makes incisions following the natural lines of your eyelids; in the creases of your upper lids, and just below the lashes in the lower lids. The incisions may extend into the crow’s-feet or laugh lines at the outer corners of your eyes. Working through these incisions, the surgeon separates the skin from underlying fatty tissue and muscle, removes or repositions excess fat, and often trims sagging skin and muscle. The incisions are then closed with very fine sutures. If you have a pocket of fat beneath your lower eyelids but don’t need to have any skin removed, your surgeon may perform a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. In this procedure the incision is made inside your lower eyelid, leaving no visible scar.

After surgery, you should keep your head elevated for several days, and use ice packs. Your surgeon will follow your progress very closely for the first week or two. The stitches will be removed a week after surgery. Most people feel ready to go out in public (and back to work) in a week. By then, depending on your rate of healing and your doctor’s instructions, you’ll probably be able to wear makeup to hide any bruising that remains. Your surgeon will probably tell you to keep your activities to a minimum for three to five days and to avoid more strenuous activities for about three weeks.

 
The positive results of your eyelid surgery – the more alert and youthful look – will last for years. For many people, these results are permanent.