An eyelid lift is an outpatient surgery, with no overnight stay required. The anesthesia could make you groggy, and your vision could be clouded afterward, so ask someone you trust to drive you home from the surgery center or hospital.
Upper BlepharoplastyÂ
- First, markings will be made on your lids with you sitting up, showing the exact amount of skin to be removed.Â
- Then the upper eye area will be numbed with local anesthesia.Â
- Once you’re numb, your blepharoplasty surgeon will make an incision along the natural crease in your eyelid, using a scalpel or laser. Doctors who favor a laser say that there’s less bleeding, while others claim that the incisions take longer to heal.
- Next, your provider will remove any excess skin.Â
- They may also do a muscle tuck, which removes or tightens excess muscle.
- A small amount of upper eyelid fat may be removed, too.
The procedure “basically involves cutting and suturing the eyelid back together,” says Dr. Mitesh Kapadia, a board-certified oculoplastic surgeon in Boston. “Most of the time, we’re just removing extra eyelid skin. But sometimes we’ll also do a muscle tuck to make the eye appear more open.”
Lower BlepharoplastyÂ
Lower eyelid surgery can be a bit more uncomfortable for a patient, so Dr. Kapadia performs it under IV sedation or general anesthesia.Â
- If your surgeon will need to remove excess skin, they’ll make the incision just below or behind the lower lash line.Â
- If the goal is to remove or reposition excess fat, incisions are typically made on the inside of the lower eyelid. This internal blepharoplasty technique, called the transconjunctival approach, leaves no visible scar.
Dr. Chesnut uses a transconjunctival technique for the lower eyelids. He prefers not to remove skin and fat pads because of the danger of creating under-eye hollows. “We know that we tend to lose fat in our face as we age. Taking more out may look good immediately, but it is a bad idea in the long term.”Â
With this approach, Dr. Chesnut says, “the existing fat is repositioned, giving much better long-term results with a more conservative surgical technique that also has lower potential for blepharoplasty complications.”
Support muscles in the lower eyelids may also need to be tightened. “If eyelid laxity is not addressed, there is an increased risk of eyelid malposition,” says Dr. Hessler. She often performs a midface lift and eye muscle suspension (called a canthopexy) with supportive sutures for patients with eyelid weakness.
RealSelf Tip: When choosing your doctor, seek out an oculoplastic surgeon who is certified by the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) or a facial plastic surgeon certified by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS).
Related: 8 Things to Know If You're Considering Eyelid Surgery
