Does Daily Contact Lens Use After Blepharoplasty Ruin Skin Around Eyes?

Question

After eyelid surgery, I know it is recommended that you should not wear contact lens for several weeks.  Once you are healed from blepharoplasty and start to wear contact lens, does the daily inserting of contact lens ruin the skin around your eye?  Thanks.

Tanveer Janjua, MD · Answer

You can safely resume it and it will not ruin your blepharoplasty results after the initial two weeks of healing. Just be gentle. The long term concerns are more to do with weakness of levator muscle by stretching it but even that is not common.
Regards

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

Dear Montana,
Yes, your mother was right. Severe rubbing of the eyelids is bad for the skin. However, the gentle traction on the eyelid that is need to insert a contact lens is generally not a problem. Remember, millions and millions of people wear contacts lens. If there was a big problem with this, we would have developed definitive information regarding this issue.
On the other hand, immediately after eyelid surgery, the eyelids are swollen, tender and contact lens wear may not be a good idea until things have healed. I recommend that my patients plan on not wearing contact lens for about 10 days. Of course as anyone who wears contacts lens should have back up glasses, it is a simple matter of wearing the glasses until things are healed enough to resume contact lens wear.
Finally, some people who are in contact lens probably should not be wearing them. Typically these are individuals who have allergies to the proteins that chronically build up on the lens or lack sufficient tears to support the lens, or have chronic lack of corneal irritation from the lens with dilation of the little blood vessel at the edge of the cornea.  
This type of issues may reach a tipping point after eyelid surgery-the proverbial straw that breaks the camels back.  Anyone doing eyelid surgery should be appropriately trained to recognize these types of issues before the eyelid surgery. Unfortunately, many surgeons who perform eyelid surgery lack the necessary background in ophthalmology to do an appropriate examination.  
This is why I encourage individuals to look for a fellowship trained oculoplastic surgeon if they are considering eyelid surgery rather than a general plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon.  The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) maintains a website with a directory to assist you to find a highly qualified surgeon in your area: ASOPRS.org

William Portuese, MD · Answer

Patients should wait approximately ten days after their surgery to resume wearing contact lenses.  At this time the insertion and removal of the contact lenses will not affect blepharoplasty results.

Jeffrey Zwiren, MD · Answer

Wearing contact lenses a few days after surgery should not be a problem.  The larger question concerns stretching of the lower eyelid skin and support structures over time.  The daily pulling of the lower eyelid when inserting a contact lens should be kept to a minimum.  Over time this can cause a weakening of these delicate support structures and may result in a sagging of the lower lid.

Kenneth R. Francis, MD, FACS · Answer

Montana in Hawaii,
The recommendation against wearing contacts following blepharoplasty is mostly based on the alteration of your tear production and the fact that you may have dry eyes for a short time after surgery.  Any repeated pulling or stretching of your eyelid skin over time will eventually lead to looser skin.  Good luck!

Does Daily Contact Lens Use After Blepharoplasty Ruin Skin Around Eyes?

Answers (9)

Answer: Daily lower eyelid manipulation may result in sagging of the lower lid

Answer: Daily lower eyelid manipulation may result in sagging of the lower lid

Answer: Dry eyes

Answer: Dry eyes

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Everything you need to know about Eyelid Surgery

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Does Daily Contact Lens Use After Blepharoplasty Ruin Skin Around Eyes?

Answers (9)

Answer: Daily lower eyelid manipulation may result in sagging of the lower lid

Answer: Daily lower eyelid manipulation may result in sagging of the lower lid

Answer: Dry eyes

Answer: Dry eyes

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Eyelid Surgery

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.