Eyelid Surgery
Eyelid surgery. You’ve heard about it. Your friends have had it. Now you are considering it for yourself because, as you have aged, your eyelids have begun to droop. It might be so bad that your upper lid is obstructing your vision. Don’t worry, Dr. Rodriguez can help.
Blepharoplasty, also called eyelid surgery, is a surgical procedure designed to improve and correct sagging in the skin of the upper and lower eyelids. It can be performed on both the upper and lower lids, and can be done on both men and women as long as your facial tissue is healthy enough for surgery. This is something we will closely evaluate during your first consultation with us at Elmquist Eye Group.
As we age, the skin and fat in our eyelids begins to droop, sag or bulge. During blepharoplasty, our surgeons remove this loose skin and fat to create a more youthful appearance. The majority of patients elect to do this procedure as a cosmetic one. It is important for you to know that doctors will only recommend the procedure as a medical necessity if the upper eyelids droop so much that they interfere with vision.
After the procedure, you will have very small stitches in the upper eyelids; these stitches will stay for a few days, but the lower lids rarely require stitches, depending on the surgical technique our surgeon decides to use.
Most of our patients are over age 35. Genetics do play a role in saggy eyelids, and some of our patients do decide to have the procedure earlier. Most people are good candidates. If you are in good health and your facial tissues are healthy, you are probably a good candidate.
It is important to have realistic expectations about what this surgery will achieve. It is a very specific surgery aimed at eyelid correction. It is not an overall plastic surgery that will give you your “ideal look”, nor will it correct other facial features.
Furthermore, this surgery does not correct vision, nor does it correct other wrinkles or sagging elsewhere on your face. We will talk to you at great length during the pre-surgical consultation to ensure that you have realistic expectations about what this procedure will achieve.
The procedure usually takes about two hours if we are repairing both your upper and lower eyelids. We will give you oral sedation as well as a local anesthesia injected around the eye to numb the pain. You may receive IV sedation in some cases.
During the procedure, we usually work on the upper eyelids first to remove excess fat and skin that is causing the droop.
Recovery is generally easy. You can expect swelling and some bruising. You have to take it easy for a week and your eyes will look normal in a week or two. As with any procedure, there can be complications, but this is rare in blepharoplasty. Some patients experience infection or bleeding, and many report dry eye symptoms, which can be corrected with eye drops.
If you have considered eyelid surgery, give us a call at Elmquist Eye Group at (239) 936-2020 for an evaluation to find out if you are a good candidate for the procedure.