When is best time to consider consultations for revision surgery? (Photos)

It is relatively frequent occurrence that patient has dry eye symptoms after eyelid , lower in particular, surgery. Some of these patient to may have had a mild eye symptoms before surgery but did not pay much attention to that. Weeks and months after surgery dry eye symptoms may be worsened due to inflammatory changes in glands that produce tears. Protective glasses, avoidance of wind, fans, AC, TV and PC lights may help. Taping the eyes before bedtime for several weeks may also be useful. Surgery may not be needed based on these photos. Patience! Good luck.

Based on your photos, we can see a significant amount of swelling that is remaining in your upper eyelids. I suspect that when the remaining swelling goes down, your dry eye will get better, and your lagophhalmos will disappear. In the meantime, continue to use lubricating eye gel in your eyes at night, and natural tears as needed during the day. Wishing you well moving forward. Sincerely, Dr Joseph

I coined the term Post Upper Blepharoplasty Syndrome (PUBS) and
pioneered the repair of the post upper blepharoplasty syndrome. I also offer surgery for post blepharoplasty lower eyelid retraction. It is important to understand that not all of the dry eye issues can be improved with revisional surgery. What is essential is to avoid further harm by well intended eyelid surgeons who claim to be in the eyelid repair business but really only dabble in it. You have limited resources and it is important to make the most of what you have. Most do not do well with skin grafts and disfiguring tarsorrhaphies. You need work that helps restore you appearance and function. The assessment can’t be accomplished over the internet or zoom call. A detailed personal assessment is essential. While I generally advocate waiting for 6 months of recovery before performing revisional eyelid surgery, it is not too soon to get the presurgical assessment needed to plan this work.

I'm sorry to hear you are unhappy with your previous surgery. You will want to wait until at least six months post op before considering consultations for a revision. As you are still healing you may notice improvement in your dry eye symptoms over the next few months.

You will need to wait a minimum of 6 months, but can go for consultation now. You do need to be massaging your lower eyelids upward to help soften the tissue.