Hard Lower Lid Bumps After Steroid Injections

I had upper and lower blepharoplasty one month ago. 10 days post surgery, the lower left lid swelled and my surgeon gave me a steroid injection. The swelling went down, then appeared 2 weeks later in the other eye. Again, an injection. Now, there's a hard bump under each eye. The bump in the first eye he injected is not very visible, but has moved much lower under my eye. My surgeon recommended oral steroids, but I had such a drastically horrible reaction to the anesthesia, that I am reluctant. I am a healthy, fit 40-year-old woman.

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by beastyfeasty in NYC

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Lymphatic massage and time; Try to avoid local steroids

The Lower lids are very sensitive structures and should be handled with extreme care. Prolonged swelling (excluding hematoma) could occur in the lower lid cheek junction. The best approach I found is lymphatic massage in a gentle manner. Oral steroids could help, but it has its own set of problems. I would not used steroid injections as this could complicate the issue and could lead to tissue atrophy.

Patience

Oral steroids are NOT anesthesia, and though one would not expect the same type of adverse reactions, some can occur. I think that if you are opposed to steroids orally, your best bet is to be patient. Ask about the possibility of compresses or some other treatment that you may tolerate. sek

Your hard lower lid bumps

The bumps you are describing could be a variety of things, but most commonly a hematoma (collection of blood), or scar tissue. It would be helpful to know what technique was used to perform your lower eyelid blepharoplasties. Transconjunctival (inside of eyelid), transcutaneous (skin incision), or a fat putt down/transfer technique. Frequently with a fat pull down technique a hard lump is felt in the area with the highest concentration of transfered fat that softens with time. It is... more