Follow-Up Question: Bad result from lateral canthoplasty. How long should I wait to revise.

Please first understand that you are in trouble.  You may not be fixable.  Fixing these types of issues requires resources that are used up by well meaning surgeons who do not understand that lateral canthal surgery can not fix these problems.  You now have a tight, insufficient lower eyelid because these surgeon have been nipping away on your eyelid.  You also have chronic corneal exposure and inflammation.  I strongly recommend getting assessed by a corneal specialist who is only interested in the health of your eye and not their fee for doing more eyelid surgery on you.  It is critical to let things heal.  It is critical to get real second opinions from surgeons who are true experts in fixing the work of other surgeons. A reasonable time frame would be a full year but chronic corneal exposure unresponsive to medical management sometimes forces surgery at a much earlier time frame. Please study my free ebook on eyelid surgery which has a lot of information on what is required to help these issues.

I agree with the other responses. You have swelling (Chemosis). This can be aided with topical steroids, however your eye pressures need to be monitored if steroids are used for any extended period. You need to protect the eye and cornea. This can be done with an eye gel and / or corneal shield while you are asleep. In the day you may consider using saline drops or a gel. It is important your eye does not dry out form exposure. If the cornea becomes overly dry this can be a serious problem.The final results of canthoplasty surgery often takes weeks to months. Post-operative massage is often important after the first week or 2. If a revision is required this should be done after waiting at least 6 months. See your surgeon, review your concerns, and if you want a second opinion see who s/he would suggest. Best wishes, Alexander Anzarut, MD

It appears from pictures that you have a condition called chemosis(swelling of the conjunctiva, it looks like a tear but you can't wipe it away) with secondary inflammation on the left worse than right. This is somewhat common after this procedure. I usually treat it with oral and ophthalmic steroids which will help it resolve. Then it can be re-evaluated, hopefully improving the eyelids not needing to revise them. But if not I usually wait at least 3-6 months to do a revision surgery.

There are a number of ways to perform a canthoplasty. Some involve stitch material very close to the lateral canthus where you seem to have some redness and irritation.The stitch material may be the cause. Either you could be allergic or it could be irritating your eye. Go back to your surgeon, who I assure would be happy to offer you some advice. It may just be a case of antibiotic ointment until the suture material stops irritating. Hope that helps.Adam Goodwin