How Does the Recovery for Eyelid Ptosis Compare to That of Blepharoplasty?

I've had upper and lower blepharoplasty, so I'm somewhat familiar with that recovery period. How does repair of ptosis for one eye only, compare with full blepharoplasty? Seems less invasive. How does the bruising compare? How quickly can people go back to work if they simply don't care if others know that they had a cosmetic procedure? Are there any believable excuses to give if I wanted to go back to work quickly but not reveal the cosmetic aspect?

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by 5321anon in Concord

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Recovery for Eyelid Ptosis vs. Recovery after Blepharoplasty

Typically a brow lift would be considered more invasive than a blepharoplasty. Upper blepharoplasty's are usually short and simple procedures in which a short incision is made and excess skin and/or fat are removed; the procedure typically takes about 30 minutes to an hour and the patient is back to normal daily living within a week. Most brow lifts are considered more invasive because the time it takes to perform the procedure and the recovery/healing time following it are longer than the... more

Recovery for Upper Eyelid Ptosis Repair Similar to Blepharoplasty

Hi 5321anon, While every patient and procedure may vary, the postoperative recovery after upper eyelid ptosis repair is similar for upper blepharoplasty surgery. Patients typically take several days off work, while some take a full week off work. Generally, most bruising and swelling improves within the first two weeks. If the eye appearance during the immediate healing period is not bothersome, then patients can return to work as soon as they want, such as light office work.... more

Ptosis surgery vs upper blepharoplasty

There is usually more swelling and bruising with the ptosis surgery because it is a more complicated surgery especially if it is a levator resection. At one week, you will still have significant swelling. Tell them you had a correction of a lazy eyelid.

Recovery from ptosis repair

It is hard to predict exactly how an individual will heal from a particular surgery. With blepharoplasty, if fat is removed as well, you are in a similar layer of the eyelid and most patients will have up to 1-2 weeks of mild to moderate bruising and swelling. Because you have already had a blepharoplasty, there will be more scar tissue to dissect to do your ptosis repair, so you may notice that your healing is a little slower. All in all, however you won't notice... more

Recovery from ptosis repair

The recovery from ptosis repair should be about the same as wehn you had your eyes done, although this is only being done on the upper lids.

Steven Wallach, MD

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Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Recovering from eyelid ptosis surgery and blepharoplasty

Depending on the technique, upper eyelid ptosis repair is usually more invasive. Don't take the difficulty of this kind of surgery lightly. If done via a levator advancement technique one must dissect through all the layers of the eyelid to get to the levator muscle (we dissect less deep with a standard bleph). Also we must set the eyelid at the perfect height and then deal with many variables such as contour irregularities, the muscle beeing too anesthetized to... more

Difference in Recovery between Blepharoplasty and Ptosis Surgery

A ptosis surgery should have less bruising and swelling than a blepharoplasty, and the recovery should also be easier since you are not disturbing the lower lid. As far as what to tell the curious, tell them you had a reconstructive procedure for a lazy eyelid, all of which is true.