Eyelid surgery

In most cases this procedure is done with local anaesthetic. The patient is awake during the procedure but won´t feel any pain.

This procedure can be done at the consultancy, at a clinic or hospital. Normally the procedure will only take a few hours and hospital admittance overnight is not necessary.

The procedure will take between 1 and 3 hours, depending on what is done.

Usually the surgeon makes the incision along the natural line of the upper eyelid and just below the eyelashes or inside the lower eyelid.The incision can be extended to the laughter lines at the end of the eye. Working through these incisions, the surgeon separates the skin from the fat and the muscle, removes the excess fat and may cut some skin and muscle. The incision will then be carefully stitched. If you have fat deposits in the lower eyelids, without it being necessary to remove skin, your surgeon may perform a procedure called Transconjunctival Blepharoplasty. In this case the incision is done inside the lower eyelid and leaves no visible scars. Normally this procedure is done on younger patients with thicker and more elastic skin.

Your surgeon will lubricate the eyes with a special lotion and apply a bandage. Your eyelids may be irritated but this can be aleviated with the medication prescribed by your doctor. It´s recommended that the head be kept raised for some days and that cold compresses are used to reduce the swelling and bruising (it can take between a week and a month for their disappearance).

You will be shown how to clean your eyes which will feel sticky during the first week and some doctors recommend applying eyedrops to moisten the eyes. Additionaly, during the first weeks your eyes may have excessive tears, be very sensitive to light and vision may be blurred.

Your surgeon will follow your progress very closely during the first weeks. The stitches will be removed during the first week after the procedure and once removed, the swelling and bruising around the eyes will start to reduce and you will begin to feel and look much better.

You will be able to read and watch television after the 2nd or 3rd day but you may not use contact lenses for at least 2 weeks and even after this time they may feel uncomfortable. Most people feel prepared to go out or appear in public in a week to 10 days after the operation. Makeup can be applied to any bruised areas.

You may be sensitive to light and wind and have irritation of the eyes so it´s advisable to wear sunglasses and suncream when outdoors. Your surgeon will probably advise you to take it easy for 3 or 4 days after the operation and to avoid any strenuous activity for 3 weeks.

Healing is a gradual process and the scars can stay a pink colour for up to six months or more after the operation, changing with time into fine white lines which will hardly be visible.
On the other hand the results of surgery will last for years and for some people they will be permanent.

When doing eyelid surgery on the lower eyelid you have to be careful to remove only the skin necessary, if all the skin is cut to remove the creases below the eyelid an effect called ECTROPION can appear which is the increased opening of the space between the pupil and the eyelashes.