Eyelid Surgery

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) is the technique of trimming away droopy skin from the upper or lower eyelids, removing fat from “puffy” eyes, and restoring the more natural “almond shape” of the eye. Eyelid surgery is often done in conjunction with mini-brow lift to raise the arch of the eyebrows and/or resurfacing procedures to smooth the crepiness of eyelid skin or crow’s feet. Dark circles under the eyelids are not eliminated by blepharoplasty but fall more naturally into the groove below the eyelid.

Procedure and recovery

Eyelid surgery is performed under “twilight” sedation (you are totally unconscious) by a Board certified anesthesiologist at our state of the art AAAASF certified facility, The Aesthetic Surgery Center. The length of the procedure is usually one to one and a half hours. Incisions follow natural lines of the eyelid – the crease above the upper eyelid; along the lash line of the lower eyelid. Fat and skin are trimmed and the deep muscle (important for internal support) are strengthened. In special circumstances, when fat pockets protrude into the lower eyelids but there is little or no extra skin, the incision is made inside the lower eyelid (transconjunctival blepharoplasty), leaving no external visible scar.

Ice compresses are applied for two to three days to each eye. Bruising and swelling tend to fade after seven to ten days but may last as long as two to four weeks. Skin care is initiated immediately. A flesh colored concealer custom can be applied during the second week. Most patients are able to return to work or go out in public within a week to ten days (earlier with tinted glasses).

The more alert, youthful shape of your eyes should last for years. With periodic maintenance procedures requiring much less invasive surgery or laser “touch-up”, you should look fresh well into your seventies or eighties.