Can swelling after Blepharoplasty be permanent?

I had lower blepharophasty Nov 10, but since the one eye stayed swollen the doctor opened it up again to see if any was wrong on Dec 23. He claimed that the muscle had slightly folded on itself and he straightened it out. So, it's four weeks today, and it's still swollen each morning with makes that circular indentation where the puffiness meets the eye socket and makes me feel like a freak.

Last night it actually looked better, but today when I woke up it was more swollen than ever and it has remained swollen today. I have hardly left the house for the past two months, as I am so self conscious. Evenings are a little better, but I still don't feel like me and I keep wondering if people are noticing it since it can look better or worse depending on the lighting. The other healed in two weeks. Could this problem be permanent?

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8 answers to “Can swelling after Blepharoplasty be...”

A: Swelling after Blepharoplasty is not normally permanent but can be visible for 3-4 months

By Brooke R. Seckel, MD - Boston Plastic Surgeon

The fact that you had a revision of your blepharoplasty 6 weeks after surgery certainly has prolonged your swelling. If the revision corrected the muscle problem I would expect your swelling to be greatly improved by six weeks and certainly gone by 6 months at the longest. The eyes are very delicate and prone... more

A: Swelling usually not permanent

By William Portuese, MD - Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Swelling is usually not permanent after a blepharoplasty. Some of the swelling that is occurring more in the morning and then in the evenings is just fluid shift and will go away. Make sure to be on a low-salt diet.

A: Swelling after Blepharoplasty can persist for months

By Steven Wallach, MD - Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Usually the majority of swelling lasts a few weeks, but for some individuals the swelling can persist for months. Usually by a year the tissues have settled back to normal.

A: Swelling after lower Blepharoplasty should gradually improve

By Stella Desyatnikova, MD - Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

It is hard to tell without examining you. Swelling after eyelid surgery may take several months to resolve. In view of the fact that it seems to fluctuate, it will probably gradually get better. Since you had two procedures in the course of a couple months, it will probably take a bit longer to heal. You might... more

A: No but it can take a long time for all swelling to resolve.

By Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD - Los Angeles Oculoplastic surgeon

With rare exceptions, swelling caused by eyelid surgery resolves in time. Four weeks after a surgery is actually considered to be relatively soon after surgery. This means that the swelling you are experiencing will get better in time. The rare circumstances where swelling lingers can be... more

A: Sounds like swelling

By Robert M. Freund, MD - New York City Plastic Surgeon

It sounds like you had a problem that was rectified. Great! However, when you have two surgical procedures in such a short time, one would expect a significant amount of swelling. On a good note, the fact that it gets better and worse suggests that it is swelling and will eventually resolve. Finally, although... more

A: Time and patience may be all that are required.

By Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD - Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgeon

Dear Hollygirl, Swelling following lower lid blepharoplasty is not particularly uncommon. If the muscle had folded upon itself it sounds like your surgeon performed a subciliary incision to the lower lid. This approach can address the fat and excess skin and muscle of the lower lid, but, the... more

A: Not an easy question to answer

By Robin T.W. Yuan, MD - Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

You are still quite soon after your second surgery so I wouldn't pass judgment on the permanancy of your condition. There sounds like a dynamic component to your situation where sometimes it looks good and sometime look worse. Whether or not alternating compresses or steroidal therapy would be helpful... more

Comments

aliu
109 posts
21 Jan 2009

Dear hollygirl, Sorry to hear that it is taking so long for that one eye to heal. Unfortunately there is absolutely no way any physician can ever tell you how long your swelling will last. There are risk factors (smoking, diabetes, etc...), things that we can do to help (ice packs, warm compresses, arnica etc...) but ultimately it's just your bodies' own healing process that will get rid of swelling. Even if the same surgeon performs identical surgery on identical twins, each twin will still heal differently. I have personally seen surgery take up to 6-9 months to fully recover. Surgery went smoothly, no complications, but sometimes for unknown reasons and no fault of anyone, the healing just takes a super long time. I'm not trying to scare you but just to be honest with you. It doesn't sound like any permanent damage occured; odd things like this do happen from time to time. That's why I always consider it my job as a cosmetic surgeon to let patients know the worst case scenario and see if the patient is still willing to take on that risk prior to surgery. Good luck healing!