Can I drive after lower blepharoplasty? (Local anesthesia).

Unfortunately, even with local anesthesia, you won’t be able to drive yourself home after your eyelid surgery. Not only could your vision be temporarily impaired for a few hours after surgery, but your plastic surgeon may also use a mild sedative along with local anesthesia, which will definitely leave you unable to drive. If this is a concern, consider talking to your plastic surgeon about rescheduling your procedure for a time that would be more convenient to have someone drive you home and even stay with you for the first day or so after your procedure. It’s better to put off your eyelid surgery until you can arrange for a safe way to get home than to put yourself and others at risk. Hope this helps!
 

Dr. E

Local anesthesia is the right way to go for a blepharoplasty, as it's important for your facial plastic surgeon to evaluate the results while the face can move. However, even with local anesthesia, you will be in no condition to drive yourself. You may be sore and sleepy. Your vision will probably be blurry, your eyes will be anesthetized and your eye muscles won't be able to function optimally. If you can't find anyone to drive you, you will need to arrange for a taxi or some other transportation, or just delay the surgery until a friend or family member is available to help you. I hope this helps.

Each surgeon/clinic will have different policies for the types of procedures performed to ensure patient safety and release their own liability.  Moreover, should you drive and be involved in an accident, your automobile insurance would not cover you.  In some hospital and surgery centers, you will NOT be released until a driver verifies that you will be driven to your destination.  Some even go so far as to require the driver to remain in the waiting room during the surgery.Many of my patients pre-arrange for Uber, a vocational or licensed practical nurse, or a taxi to pick them up and ensure that they are safely at home and following their post-op procedures .Kenneth Hughes, MD, Board Certified Plastic SurgeonLos Angeles, CA

Even if your procedure is done under local anesthesia, you should not plan to drive after surgery. Swelling or bleeding, as well as ointments may interfere with your ability to see clearly. Have a friend bring you home or order a car service. You'll be safer. 

Even with just local anesthesia, you should not drive home after blepharoplasty because the muscles that move your eye may be anesthetized, and your vision generally isn't that clear due to ointment and tearing. Also, many that use local anesthesia may use a mild oral sedative to go with it.
It is great that you are using local anesthesia, and your recovery will be much easier afterwards because of it, but it will also be best to have somebody with you at home to start it off, just for simple activities of daily living like making sure you're getting proper nutrition. 
To ensure you are receiving the highest level of care, seek out a modernly trained, new-school dermatologic surgeon, oculoplastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon who is board certified and fellowship trained in one of these "core four" cosmetic specialties. Membership in organizations like the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery help to identify a highly trained surgeon.
Cameron Chesnut
#realself500 Physician

The local anesthesia will anesthetize the muscles that move the eyes. That means that you will have limited control over aligning the eyes for the first few hours after eyelid surgery.  Further, you will have ointment applied to the eye surface which will blur your vision.  What is wrong with Uber?  At my office, my charge nurse would cancel your surgery if you showed up without a responsible adult because we are concerned not just who will drive you home, but also who will help you at home after surgery.

Dear MizkittenThank you for your question. Each surgeon/clinic will have different policies for procedures they carry out but safety of a patient should be the number one priority. For my patients whenever I carry out any type of surgery on the face I would always advise not to drive for 24hours post surgery. You may experience swelling which will impair your vision. If you can arrange for a taxi to pick you up and take you home that would be the best thing to do.

Thank your for your question! This is a common concern since most of the blepharoplasties do not require general anesthesia. However, your surgeon may give you medication that causes drowsiness, making driving unsafe. You also will likely experience some blurred vision immediately afterwards.If you cannot find a ride home from a family or friend, I would recommend looking into a taxi or other driving service. It is best to be as safe as possible!Best of luck

Hi, and thank you for your question. I would not advise driving after your procedure, particularly as there may be swelling that can interfere with your vision. Additionally, although you are having the procedure under a local anaesthetic, you may be given painkilling medication that can make you feel drowsy. Your clinic should be able to give you the best advice on when you can drive following the procedure, and will also be able to recommend a discreet car service for your transportation on the day of surgery. All the best. 

to get home after your procedure and also use them to take you there so you don't have to leave your car there... its just safer.  If you had a procedure that did not potentially involve your eyes or ability to maneuver a car in an emergency and did not take sedation, you should be fine.  But  you should really clear this with your surgeon.