How long does it take to heal after upper eyelid surgery?

Question

My mother had the same situation; "hood eye" is what they called it. I suffer from the same thing. My upper lid is starting to droop over my eyelashes, and affecting my vision. But, I don't want to be off work too long.

Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD, FACS · Answer

I tell my patients that having your upper eyelids corrected provides an incredible return on your investment.  It is a procedure that gives your appearance an instant refreshed look.  I try not to over promise in terms of recovery as everyone heals differently in spite of the same surgical procedure performed.  Upper eyelid surgery heals relatively quickly and you should be able to apply makeup to your incision about a week after your surgery.  If you can work from home then you will unlikely need any pain medications after your first post operative day and you may be able to perform some of your duties just a couple of days following surgery.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

In our practice, we tell patients to anticipate some degree of bruising and swelling for approximately 10-14 days after an upper blepharoplasty.  Full healing on the incision takes about 8-12 weeks.

Jessica Kulak, MD · Answer

Most people heal fairly fast after an upper blepharoplasty.  With any surgical procedure there can be some bruising and swelling.  The sutures from an upper blepharoplasty are usually removed between day 5-7 after the procedure.  I usually recommend taking off around 1 week to 10 days from work.  At 1 week, the sutures should be out and much of the swelling has resolved.  If a patient has dark bruising from the procedure, there still may be residual bruising, but makeup can be worn to help hide whats left.

Robert T. Buchanan, MD (retired) · Answer

Upper eyelid surgery to remove hooding generally heal quite quickly and, with camouflage make-up, many people can return to normal activities within 4-5 days or a little longer. The length of time is also dependent on whether a brow lift is needed also, since a great deal of upper eyelid hooding is caused by descent of the brow, either alone or with eyelid skin excess. See an experienced eyelid surgeon who does this regularly.

Randolph Capone, MD, FACS (in memoriam) · Answer

Upper blepharoplasty typically requires about 5 days until sutures can be removed, at which point most individuals return to work. (So if you had your surgery on a Thursday, you'd go back to work on Tuesday morning after your suture removal.) Some patients, however, take a few extra days to recuperate so that bruising and swelling has a little more time to dissipate. Little things like taking arnica supplements, medical makeup, and/or wearing costume eyewear can hide the healing and get you back to work ASAP!

Paul Silverstein, MD (retired) · Answer

Uppper eyelid blepharoplasty is an almost pain free surgery that heals in 5-7 days.  From a social aspect bruising and swelling may last more than a week, but can be concealed with hypoallergenic make-up.  To be sure, plan a week out of work, ubless you can work from home.

How long does it take to heal after upper eyelid surgery?

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