Eyelid Surgery

Cosmetic eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) removes the excess fat and wrinkled, drooping skin of the upper eyelids that can result in a tired or sad-looking face. All blephaoroplasty and eyelid surgeries are laser procedures performed without blades. A lower lid blepharoplasty tightens the lower eyelid skin and can also eliminate bags under the eyes. Cosmetic eyelid surgery can correct problems resulting from aging, as well as inherited traits that can affect some patients as early as their 20s or 30s. This procedure can be performed under either local anesthetic or, for most patients, intravenous sedation.

Why to consider Blepharoplasty?

Patients who may want to consider cosmetic eyelid surgery may have:

• Dark circles or large bags below the eyes.
• Excessive skin or wrinkles around the eyelids leading to a puffy appearance.
• Excessive skin hanging on upper eyelids.

What will the day of surgery be like? 

Medications are administered for your comfort during the surgical procedure. Frequently, local anesthesia and intravenous sedation are used for patients undergoing eyelid surgery, although general anesthesia may be desirable in some instances. For your safety during the operation, various monitors are used to check your heart, blood pressure, pulse and the amount of oxygen circulating in your blood.

When surgery is completed, you will be taken into a recovery area where you will continue to be closely monitored. Your vision will be slightly blurry as a result of ointment used to soothe and protect the eye during surgery. Mild swelling also is normal after eyelid procedures. There is surprisingly little discomfort, however, from the surgery. The eyelids are healed within a week, and there is little bruising because of the laser used to remove the skin and fat pads.

How long will the results last?

The results of aesthetic eyelid surgery are long lasting, but they may be affected by your heredity and lifestyle factors. There will always be a marked improvement over your pre-surgical state even though some aging can occur over time.

Removal of fat from your eyelids, which is usually the cause of puffiness and bags, is permanent, and these conditions generally will not recur. The skin continues to age, however, and skin laxity along the fine wrinkling of the eyelid area may, at some point, return (although never to the extent that it was present before surgery). Sometimes loss of tone in the forehead causes additional sagging of the eyebrows that mimics a recurrence of drooping upper eyelids. If this happens, correction may require a forehead lift or a secondary eyelid procedure.

Even though the aging process continues, patients are happy with their appearance for many years following eyelid surgery. Some patients find that they want to make additional improvements at a later time.