Had Lower Skin Pinch Blepharoplasty 5 Days Ago. Eyes Still Very Puffy.

It is very normal to have swelling 5 days after any surgical procedure.  The pinch blepharoplasty is a good technique.  It has less trauma than others.  It is still surgery.  We have our patients sleep with their head elevated for at least a week.  We like ice also.  Please check with your Plastic Surgeon first, and let him/her know your concerns.

Maximum swelling is usually at about 3-5 days and goes away over a few months. You should sleep with your head elevated and cut back on salt to help the swelling.

Much of the swelling is from the inflammation that occurs from healing.  So even though the surgeon may have down played what healing would be like, there is still healing.  Everyone heals a bit differently.  Part of this is the subjective experience.  Five days is very early.  

Being a Cosmetic Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon super-specialist of the eyes and face in New York, swelling under the eyes after blepharoplasty is something I deal with on a daily basis with eyelift surgery patients. Swelling after eyelid surgery can be variable and can last from a week to a month. Even with minimal trauma after lower lid skin pinch blepharoplasty, you can still get obvious swelling and puffiness under the eyes during the recovery period. After having the lower eyelid pinch bleph, you may notice the first 2 days that swelling is at its maximum. Usually at 5 days, you can use warm compresses for your puffy eyes or and carry on with normal activity (moving, blinking, talking, smiling). Compared to standard blepharoplasty, a limited amount of skin removal during a skin pinch eyelid surgery is less traumatic than removing fat or other surgery. However, in my 16 years of practice, I've witnessed a wide variation in recovery after eyelid surgery a lot of swelling for a little procedure and virtually no swelling for a lot of surgery. If you've ever had particles or debris go into your eyes or rubbed your eye due to allergies, you can remember your eyes are very sensitive to any kind of trauma. I recommend following the instructions given to you by your eyelid surgeon for after care following eyelid surgery. As long as your doctor sees no immediate concerns, you should be optimistic that the swelling will do down after eyelift surgery.

You really shouldn’t worry after 5 days of having a lower lid skin pinch blepharoplasty as it can take up to 3 months to get a final result.  Even though it may be a small surgery in your mind, the eyelid skin is the thinnest skin on the body and can accumulate quite a bit of fluid and be bruised. A pinch usually involves resection of some muscle which can always cause some bruising.  One of the reasons we like to use a laser in doing the surgery is to minimize bruising.

Swelling will vary from one patient to the next.This is not unusual and should resolve.Maybe warm compresses and gentle massage after 8 or so days.

Yes, the pinch bleph is less invasive and will heal faster. It is still an injury however and that needs to recover. Less trauma was done and the surrounding non injured tissues with their intact lymphatics will contribute to the faster recovery.

Swelling post skin only blepheroplasty shoul be less than that of a skin muscle flap. However we all heal at different rates and if the muscle was disturbed more swelling will ocurr. Hang in there. It will all go away.

What you are experiencing sounds normal as swelling does not go away in 5 days.  I would give it more time for the swelling to resolve.  It is hard to be patient but at this point, it is a waiting game. 

Swelling happens with any surgery, even a skin pinch.  You will probably heal quicker than a more invasive blepharoplasty but don't forget, there is an injection of local anesthesia that alone could account for the swelling.  Be patient, it is only 5 days.