Asian Double Eyelid Surgery Recovery Time

One can divide the recovery time for Asian eyelid surgery into two phases: Acute and Sub-acute.The acute phase is about a month.  This can be longer if the surgery involves ptosis correction or it is a revision.  This is the phase when you could find the creases to be "too high" and "asymmetrical".  This is the phase that you will spend alot of time on realself.  If you do not want to go through this than you should not consider undergoing this surgery.The sub-acute phase will be about a year.  This is when the creases become more natural, more symmetrical and the scars become less visible.  This is also the phase you know you had made the right decision.

Recovery time is variable among each individuals.  From my experience in Asia working on many eyelid surgeries, the majority of swelling (80% or so) disappears by 2nd to 3rd week in an incisional type of blepharoplasty, but to look natural, that means people stop asking you what happened to your eye, typically takes about one month.  Of course, if you choose the non incisional suture type blepharoplasty, the recovery time is much shortened, can be as short as one week to look natural.

Great question.  You have probably heard it before, but recovery time always varies depending on the patient.  But on average I usually recommend for patients to plan for at least 1 week off from work or working from home after upper eyelid blepharoplasty to create a crease.  With the open approach there are usually sutures that need to be removed at 3-5 days.  There may be expected swelling, bruising, dry eye and even chemosis (swelling involving the whites of the eye).  These can all be managed and minimized with optimal post op care - including icing within the first 24-28 hours, steroid eye drops, oral steroids, arnica supplement etc.  Usually after the first 3-5 days most patients are able to function normally - but may still look swollen or bruised.  At a week most patients are recovered enough that others are unlikely to notice major swelling or bruising - or can cover up with make up or glasses.  Usually by 2 weeks patients are looking fully back to normal.  I would recommend not scheduling surgery within 3-4 weeks of an important social or work event because there can always be unexpected complications.
Unfortunately as a man you don't have the benefit of covering bruises with make up, but if you are a glasses wearer,  glasses can distract and camouflage minor bruising and swelling as well.  

Dear 7690,Thank you for your questions.Recovery after incision based double eyelid surgery is usually a week or so.  There are sutures that need to be removed after 5-7 days, depending on the surgeon's preferences.  At the end of the week, there will still be swelling which will make the fold appear larger and higher than it will eventually settle out to be.  This sometimes takes 6-10 months after surgery.  My preference in a case such as yours would be to use a non-incisional method.   There are no sutures to remove.  Patients can look fairly normal in 2-3 days.  The period of swelling is much shorter and even in one week patients can have their swelling mostly resolved.

Depending upon the extent of your surgery, the immediate recovery period may take one to two weeks. It's best to get a full evaluation to determine the extent of your surgery.