Eyelid Surgery is also known as blepharoplasty, eyelid surgery improves the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both, and gives a rejuvenated appearance to the surrounding area of the eyes, making one look more rested and alert.
Why Eyelid Surgery?
Enhancing the patient's appearance with eyelid surgery
Cosmetic eyelid surgery, called blepharoplasty, is a surgical procedure to improve the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both, and give a rejuvenated appearance to the surrounding area of the patient's eyes, making him look more rested and alert.
Specifically, eyelid surgery can treat:
- Loose or sagging skin that creates folds or disturbs the natural contour of the upper eyelid, sometimes impairing vision
- Excess fatty deposits that appear as puffiness in the upper eyelids
- Bags under the eyes
- Droopiness of the lower eyelids, showing white below the iris (colored portion of the eye)
- Excess skin and fine wrinkles of the lower eyelid
Is eyelid surgery right for the patient?
Eyelid surgery is usually performed on adult men and women who have healthy facial tissue and muscles and have realistic goals for improvement of the upper or lower eyelids and surrounding area.
The patient should do it for itself, not to fulfill someone else's desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image. Suitable candidates are:
- Healthy individuals who do not have a life-threatening illness or medical conditions that can impair healing
- Non-smokers
- Individuals with a positive outlook and specific goals in mind for blepharoplasty
- Individuals without serious eye conditions
The patient must tell his doctor if he has any of these medical conditions:
Procedural Steps:
What happens during eyelid surgery?
Step 1 - Anesthesia
Medications are administered for the patient's comfort during the surgical procedure. The choices include intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. The doctor will recommend the best choice for the patient.
Step 2 - The incision
The incision lines for eyelid surgery are designed for scars to be well concealed within the natural structures of the eyelid region.
Droopy conditions of the upper eyelid can be corrected through an incision within the natural crease of the upper eyelid allowing repositioning of fat deposits, tightening of muscles and tissue, and/or removal of excess skin.
Step 3 - Closing the incisions
Eyelid incisions typically are closed with:
- Removable or absorbable sutures
- Skin adhesives
- Surgical tape
The surgeon may use a laser chemical peel to erase dark discoloration of the lower eyelids.
Step 4 - See the results
The results of eyelid surgery will appear gradually as swelling and bruising subside to reveal a smooth, better-defined eyelid and surrounding region, and an alert and rejuvenated appearance.
Possible risks of eyelid surgery include:
- Unfavorable scarring
- Temporarily blurred or impaired vision
- Dry eyes
- Difficulty closing your eyes
- Lid lag, a pulling down of the lower eyelid may occur and is often temporary
- Ectropion, rolling of the eyelid outwards
- Bleeding (hematoma)
- Poor wound healing
- Infection
- Fluid accumulation
- Blood clots
- Numbness and other changes in skin sensation
- Anesthesia risks
- Eyelid disorders that involve the abnormal position of the upper eyelids (eyelid ptosis), loose eyelid skin, or abnormal laxness of the lower eyelid (ectropion) can coexist with sagging forehead and eyebrow structures brow lift surgery will not correct these disorders additional surgery may be required
- Pain, which may persist
- Skin discoloration and swelling
- Sutures may spontaneously surface through the skin, become visible or produce irritation that requires removal
- Deep vein thrombosis, cardiac and pulmonary complications
- The possibility of revisional surgery
- Loss of eyesight