What is ptosis surgery lifetime expectation? Can the surgery fail several years later?

Ptosis surgery is not like taking out an appendix.  The eyelid has to heal even while it is blinking open and closed.  It is remarkable that we don't all get ptosis considering how weakly it is held into the eyelid.  The longevity of the ptosis surgery very much depends on the quality of your eyelid tissues and other factors including how vigorously you tend to rub your eyelids.  Ptosis surgery frequently needs to be revised.  Conversely, for some the repair can last a lifetime.  Your milage may very.

A ptosis repair can last for a long time - but of course this is quite variable.  I have seen patients back after 10-15 years that still have a good lid height.  Others may start to droop much sooner than that, and there is no way to predict this.  If you have a ptosis and you are bothered by this, get it fixed.  If you start to droop again in a few years you can have another surgery - either the same procedure or something else as there is more than one way to lift a lid.  See an oculoplastic surgeon so they can evaluate the lid muscle function and help guide you with what surgery would be best for you.    

Ptosis surgery, like most cosmetic tightening and lifting surgery is long lasting but may not be permanent.  Over time, the lid tissues may stretch and weaken again.  This depends on the type of ptosis you have, whether the muscle is abnormal to begin with, etc.  In most cases, the surgery is long lasting and doesn't need to be repeated but your doctor can give you a better idea of what you can expect.  If you are young, a lifetime is a long time for any surgery to be "permanent" and I wouldn't consider the surgery a failure if it needs to be repeated many years later but rather the tissues of your body continuing to age.All the best,

(assuming this is your lids and not breasts) vary by your surgeon's technique as well as the quality of your tissues.  Gravity always wins out over time.

Ptosis means sag.It is caused by aging, local stress on tissues and genetic tendencies.Tissues continue to age (you lose roughly 1% of your tissue elasticity per year) as you do.Thus, surgery to remove existing ptosis always "fails" with time.You can usually expect 5 to 10 years before further tissue stretch requires touch-up or redo surgery,although I have seen cases of unusual tissue stretching which required touch-up sooner.If you're having a mastopexy, and don't wear good support afterwards, or do a lot of trampoline or play volleyball, you will stretch out sooner rather than later.

No intelligent plastic or eye surgeon will give you a lifetime guarantee and it depends on your age,cause of the problem , prior surgeries etc.With that said when done properly the results are usually very durable.If your problem is true ptosis and not just excess hanging skin sometimes an internal stitch can let go or the muscle attachment can stretch out again requiring a revision