Recovery from eyelid surgery (aka blepharoplasty) depends on two things. Which eyelids we’re talking about (upper or lower) and what we mean by “recovery.”

Recovery from eyelid surgery

Let’s start with the term recovery. If we’re referring to time in bed recovering, then there is no recovery. Upper or lower eyelid surgery has minimal pain and bruising but nothing requiring convalescence. While patients may fill a prescription for pain medication after surgery, this is rarely necessary. In fact, excessive pain associated with eyelid surgery may suggest a hematoma, or bleeding under the skin. In that case, let your doctor know as soon as possible in case treatment is required. Although, this complication is very, very rare.

Recovery, in regards to eyelid surgery, typically refers to how fast the eyelids heal and the patient can resume regular activity.

Upper eyelid surgery is potentially the easiest recovery. See example above. To remove upper eyelid skin, your surgeon can perform this procedure under local anesthesia. After skin removal, one suture closes the incision. Surprisingly, the patient can remove that suture themselves three days later! In those first three days or after, the patient can return to their regular routine including showers.

Lower Blepharoplasty

Lower eyelid surgery may require a longer healing period. However, the patient can still resume regular activities similar to upper eyelid surgery. But lower eyelid surgery that includes skin removal can lead to ectropion. This is when scar tissue pulls the lower eyelid down, showing more of the white of the eyeball. This may happen initially in all patients but then eventually resolves with massage. So in this sense, the recovery from lower eyelid surgery can take longer, but only in regards to the healing process. The patient can still return to work soon after surgery.

If lower eyelid surgery requires removal of fat only from the lower lid, this can be done through an incision on the inside of the lower lid. See example below. Without a skin incision, this patient will have no visible scar, no sutures and a very quick recovery other than some typical swelling.

Click on the respective links to check pricing for upper and lower eyelid surgery from Dr. Kaplan.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post How long does it take to recover from eyelid surgery? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Lower lid bags

Removing fat from the lower lid and getting rid of lower lid bags is such a satisfying procedure for both patient and surgeon. Aside from vastly improving the patient’s appearance and making them look younger and well rested, there’s another benefit.

The procedure is done without any visible scars. The surgeon makes an incision on the inside of the lower lid. By dissecting through the tissue, the fat is uncovered and then removed. This gets rid of the fat bags but there’s more to be done.

If you think about patients, like the one above, that have a lot of fat under the eye, there’s a “line” or crease below the fat also. This is at the lid-cheek junction and is called the “tear trough.” This is due to a ligament that separates the lower lid from the cheek. This band of tissue is always there but it less obvious when a patient is young and the face hasn’t started to sag.

As the face sags, that ligament becomes more obvious. So the ligament needs to be released when removing fat from the lower lid bags. But just releasing it won’t permanently get rid of the line. You have to put some fat in between the ligament so it doesn’t grow back together, creating the line again.

So this is what was done with the patient above. Fat was removed from the bags and a small amount was placed in between the cut edges of the ligament to remove the tear trough and keep it from coming back. Looks pretty good, huh?!

Pricing

This procedure can be done under deep sedation or general anesthesia. It’s a quick recovery with minimal pain or bruising and no visible scar. To check pricing from Dr. Kaplan to remove lower lid bags, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Get rid of lower lid bags first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.