Opthamologist or Plastic Surgeon for Eyelid Surgery?

I agree with Dr. Amadi. Be sure to check the credentials of your surgeon regardless of who they say they are and use only those that have a true fellowship based plastic, facial plastic or oculo-plastic surgery training. This is important in that your surgeon's technical and aesthetic training is appropriate as they are more acutely aware of the things to treat and those to avoid. Lower eyelid surgery is more technically demanding with more recent advances and this requires a skilled and experienced surgeon.  As a plastic surgeon, I do not put in lenses for catraracts and your opthomologist shouldn't do eyelid surgery without additional plastic fellowship training. Look for results of your surgeon too. I think that 5 days may be too soon to return to work but this is dependent on the complexity of the surgery. 

Expert Eyelid surgeons include Board Certified Plastic Surgeons, Facial Plastic Surgeons (ENT), and ophthalmology. There is no such thing as a "eyelid fellowship". The most critical decision to be made in achieving the best plastic surgical result is picking the most experienced and talented, that is the best, plastic surgeon possible. Too often, patients choose a physician based on a catchy ad, the brand name of a technique, the basis of one or two before and after photos, or their web site’s search engine ranking. These criteria will not find the most experienced and talented plastic surgeon. See the below link on how I would research the identity of the best plastic surgeon for your eyelid surgery.#TopEyelidSurgeon

Hello! Thank you for your question.  Cost will vary among plastic surgeons as well as with geographic location and what procedures exactly they will be providing to you.  Both specialties are apt and able to perform this procedure.  Certainly, researching a board certified plastic surgeon well-versed in the procedure(s) you desire is recommended - checking the American Board of Plastic Surgery is a great start. Consult with two or more surgeons who you are happy with their postoperative photographs and those who you, most importantly, feel comfortable and confident with. Use the opportunity to ask questions as well as visit with staff and investigate the accredited facilities they work out of.  I believe fellowship-training, beyond the core plastic surgery residency to be important, as that surgeon has gone above and beyond to seek additional training specific to that area of interest and chosen to gain additional expertise in that area.   Experience should not be measured solely by the age of the surgeon or how many years s/he has been in practice.  Checking the education and training is more valuable - a Board Certified MD plastic surgeon who was accepted to and completed an integrated plastic surgery residency, in today's day and age, are excellent choices. Those are the top students who have superior training at top institutes.  Plastic Surgery is NOT a fellowship...it is a residency. Those surgeons who have actually successfully completed additional fellowship training beyond the plastic surgery residency are also passionate about that area and will likely have the most recent, innovative, and up to date techniques. These are usually the younger surgeons, who are still readily willing and competent to continue to strive for the newest material and remain up to date on literature and conferences. You must decide for yourself who you are most comfortable with and confident with who will meet your goals and expectations. Cost may differ just on expertise and the aforementioned additional training ad what that additional expertise training has afforded to his/her patients.  Hope that this helps!  Best wishes!

There are three types of surgeons that perform eyelid surgery:  plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeon, and oculoplastic surgeons.

Experience matters more than the type of surgeon. It is important to ask your surgeon how many eyelid surgeries they perform per year, and ask for before and after photos to evaluate their results.

If you decide to see an Ophthalmologist, make sure that he/she is an ASOPRS trained Oculoplastic surgeon, and not an general Ophthalmologist, as they would not have enough experience with eyelid plastic surgery.

You can find one using the link provided below.

It is the quality of work by the surgeon, not just the specialty. Ophthalmic plastic surgeons have specialized in eyelid surgery with advanced training. That being said, ask people in the community and certainly look at before and after pictures from the physicians that you may consult with during the visit. The end result is what you are looking for and clearly state what expectations you may have after the surgery.