Go where you are comfortable.

Dear Brook607

There is nothing wrong with having blepharoplasty in an office operating room environment. The key is your comfort level. Personally I favor performing eyelid surgery with my patient awake so I can judge the effect of the upper blepharoplasty. WIth the patient awake the eye can be open and closed and the effect of tightening the eyelid platform skin and its effect on lifting the eyelashes can be assessed. Believe me, this can not be done if the eyelid surgery is perform when the patient is asleep.

On the other hand, if I know that a given person will need a certain level of sedation to be comfortable or if there are heal issues, I will often recommend that surgery be performed at the surgery center. I am on staff at the UCLA Medical Center which is a fantastic resource and provides a level of safety that no office operating room can match. Performing surgery there certainly costs a little more than in the office setting but it is not worth compromising safety.

If you are just getting your upper lids done by removing excess skin, this can usually easily be done under local anesthesia, like taking off a skin lesion. More difficult procedures like removing fat of the lower lid will require more instruments and assistance with a surgical technician or nurse. Cautery to control bleeding is necessary. Ask your surgeon what he s planning to do specfically. Some doctor's office are very well-equipt with a minor procedure room even though it is not a true operating room or surgicenter. It also depends on if you have any medical problems or allergies that might require more close monitoring by an anesthesiologist.