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!

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.

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