Must/Should I Have a Physical Exam/Blood Test Before an Eyelid Surgery?

Before any elective surgery, I would advise a full physical exam with blood work. In addition, I recommend having a stress test performed by a board certified cardiologist if you are an older patient. This will ensure you are in optimal condition for surgery. It is always better to be on the safe side. I hope this helps answer your question, and best of luck with your surgery!

The answer to your question varies based on your health and what type of anesthesia, if any, will be used for your procedure. In healthy patients, I typically do not order any lab work prior to blepharoplasty. However, for our patients with certain underlying medical problems, we will on occasion order lab work to ensure that the anesthetic will not cause any issues following surgery. I hope this information is helpful.Stephen Weber MD, FACS

This depends on a number of different factors including whether local or general anesthesia will be used, your age, and pre-existing medical conditions.  Typically we do not require these tests for upper cosmetic eyelid blepharoplastys done in the office with local anesthesia; however if you were to get a lower blepharoplasty in the hospital, we would want these clearances before proceeding.  Ultimately, the goal is to ensure the patients safety and verify that there are no existing medical issues that could complicate surgery or anesthesia.      

 

My protocol is that, if the surgery is under straight local anesthesia, pretesting is not required unless a patient's medical conditions are such that I feel it is appropriate.  However, whenever anesthesia, whether intravenous sedation or general is used, pretesting and medical clearance are the appropriate standard of care.

Depending on the type of anesthesia and the condition of your health, a physical exam and blood test may be requested. This is most often the case for surgery requiring general anesthesia.  Generally for eyelid surgery, it can be done under local anesthesia without a need for these tests.