After Upper Blepharoplasty, What Artificial Tears Would You Recommend?

Question

....which brand of artificial tears would anyone recommend (if you can)--also--are preservative free best? Thanks

Rod J. Rohrich, MD · Answer

The most common post operative care for upper and lower blepharoplasty is certainly natural tears such as Refresh Plus. It is hypoallergenic and preservative-free. It can be used 3 drops, 5-6 times per day.

A.J. Amadi, MD · Answer

Artificial tears differ in viscosity and whether they have preservatives.

	It depends how dry you are and how often you surgeon wants you to put your drops in. If you have severe dryness, one of the more viscous brands would be appropriate, such as Refresh Plus, Genteal, or Celluvisc. If not, then any of the other brands would be fine. Ask you Pharmacist to help you figure out which are the more viscous [thicker] brands. The down side to using the thicker drop is that it will make you vision a little more blurry, as expected.

	As far as preservatives go, if you are using the drops more than 5 or 6 times per day, then you may become irritated by the preservatives used in the bottles. If that's the case, then switch to the single vial, preservative free drops. You can use these as frequently as you need them [once an hour if you need]. You have to use them that day, obviously because of lack of preservative. The downside is that the cap on this single vials are somewhat flimsy and you can't put it in your pocket or your purse when you open it once, because the fluid will leak out. Once open, leave it on the counter.

Raghu Athre, MD · Answer

I recommend plain artificial tears.  The walgreens or CVS brand is just fine.  At night I recommend A lubricating eye ointment to protect your eyes for the first few days after blepharoplasty.

Matheson A. Harris, MD · Answer

Most commercial brands of artificial tears are very similar. The differ most in their viscosity. The most well advertised brands, such as Systane, Refresh, and Genteal all work well, but not significantly better than generic brands, such as Wal-mart's Equate brand, in my experience. The key is to use them often enough to get a benefit as they don't last long in the tear lake. If you are using them often and still feel dry, either up your usage or get a thicker variety (these will usually be marketed for moderate-severe dryness). At night consider using a tear ointment like Genteal gel. If you begin having eye irritation when placing the drops, preservative free may be the way to go.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD (retired) · Answer

I recommend refresh plus for the relief of temporary dry eye after eyelid surgery.  Hope this helps.

After Upper Blepharoplasty, What Artificial Tears Would You Recommend?

Answers (5)

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