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.

Recovery time from Asian eyelid surgery varies but mostly depends on the technique used and to the less extent the gender of the patient. The 2 common ways Asian double eyelid surgeries are done are-
1) Open incision technique where an incision is made in the right place to create the crease (this lack of crease is due to the different Asian eyelid anatomy where the skin attachment from the opening mechanism is not present amongst other differences). This is tailored to your own anatomy but in general used for those that need some additional things done such as removal of excess fat you might have or address the ptosis to make your eyes look brighter. Because of the need for an incision and the patients we do this open technique usually need something more done the swelling and recovery is slightly longer at approximately 2 weeks and up to 6 weeks for the eyelids to be settled.
2) Closed, suture only technique- limited incisions and sutures are used to create/recreate the crease. It  is a "simpler" procedure but again, it needs to be tailored to your own anatomy and your goals. The recovery from suture only technique has a faster recovery of about a week but any procedure takes about 6 weeks for things to settle down and mature. Because of its less invasive nature which can be a better choice for some people It can have higher rate of the crease "lapsing" and needing to be done again.
Wishing you the best in your journey.
Dr Leo Kim, Specialist Plastic Surgeon in Sydney