Blood Pooling in Eye After Eyelid Lift

Question

I had an upper eye lift in my left eye one week ago. Two days later the pain was so bad I contacted my Dr. Turns out a stitch had gone through the lid and was rubbing the eye. The following day in his office, he removed stitches and redid them. It is now day five after second surgery and my eye is all blood red. Is this normal? When does that go away? I read somewhere online that it could be really serious. [I'm using an IPad and can't find a way to send picture]. I'm really scared.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

If your surgery was a cosmetic blepharoplasty, it would be highly unusual for a suture to poke out from under the eyelid and irritate the eye. If this did happen, it would not be so surprising that the suture could cause non serious bleeding into the white of the eye called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. Because what you are describing is so unusual and there is a need for the eye to be examined by someone who is actually trained to care for the health of the eye in these sutuations, I strongly encourage you to see a oculoplastic surgeon. I recommend Dr. Mike Mccracken in Denver.

Michael Constantin Gartner, DO · Answer

It is unusual for all of your eye to be blood red. A bit red is not unheard of after blepharoplasty but this sounds more serious. I suggest you see your surgeon every couple of days to follow your progress. It is important.

Ryan Greene, MD, PhD · Answer

This appears highly unusual, but I agree with the other answers in general. You should do two things: 1) Keep seeing your surgeon on a regular basis (which I am sure they are doing) and 2) You may want to consider seeing an ophthalmologist to evaluate your eye. Discuss this second recommendation with your surgeon. Depending on their level of concern, they may favor this option.

Roger Bassin, MD · Answer

It sounds like your eye got irritated from the stitch. The white part of the eye gets real bloodshot or red if this portion, or the actual eyeball is irritated. Make sure your doctor is aware of the issue and you should most likely be seeing your eye doc to make sure all is well.

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

If you had a complication affecting your eye after your Blepharoplasty, you should be followed up routinely every few days or sooner until everything resolves IMHO. Don't hesitate to contact and see your surgeon. I can tell you that having a small amount of blood in the white (conjuntiva) of the eye happens after a Blepharoplasty, Rhinoplasty, Face Lift and all sorts of plastic and cosmetic surgery...looks very bad...but is completely harmless. This is called a conjunctival hemorrhage and occurs from straining that ruptures a small vessel in the conjunctiva.

Blood Pooling in Eye After Eyelid Lift

Answers (5)