Surgical Eyelid Lift
The eyes are not only for sight. We communicate feelings and emotions with our eyes. Also, the appearance of our eyes goes a long way in shaping how people perceive us, especially in an American society where aesthetics rule.
An eyelid lift is a cosmetic surgery that aims to restore the youthful look of our face even when age takes its toll. If your eyelids are droopy or baggy, maybe it’s time to see your plastic surgeon for blepharoplasty or eye life lift in layperson language.
In this piece, we discuss everything you need to know about eyelid lifts.
What Is an Eyelid Lift?
An eyelid lift or eyelid surgery is a cosmetic procedure to remove sagging skin or fat from the eyelids. The operation aims to eliminate or improve eye bags, and droopy or hooded eyelids and enhance the natural folds of the eyelid.
Most people who go for an eyelid lift do so for cosmetic reasons. But the surgery can also help seniors improve sight if sagging skin in the upper eyelids obstructs their vision.
When considering an eyelid lift, consult your plastic surgeon and personal physician. However, the procedure is simple and has minimal downtime.
What to Expect from an Eyelid Lift
You need to set realistic expectations for an eyelid lift. While the procedure can improve your overall facial aesthetics, it cannot remove crow’s feet, dark circles beneath the eyes or facial wrinkles.
Who Is the Best Candidate for Eyelid Surgery?
The best candidates for a cosmetic eyelid lift are those with no underlying health issues with their eyes and who don’t expect miraculous results from the procedure.
Regardless of the reason for doing this procedure, you need to set realistic expectations because a blepharoplasty cannot stop the effect of aging on your face. The surgery may improve your facial features, but it may also not result in the look you wanted when you opt for the procedure.
People with excessive dropping and sagging skin around the lower and upper eyelids may consider an eyelid lift. It is beneficial if the skin obstructs your vision or reduces your face’s appeal.
Note you may not be an ideal candidate for eyelid lift surgery if you smoke, have dry eyes problem, high blood pressure, diabetes and thyroid eye disease, as these increase the risk of surgical complications.
People of Asian descent may also not be the best candidate for eyelid lifts because the morphology of their eyelids makes it difficult to perform the surgery. Before proceeding with an eyelid lift, discussing your aims and expectations with your plastic surgeon is important.
How to Prepare for Eyelid Lift
Because you may not have full control of your vision after the procedure, ensure there is someone to drive you home after the surgery. You are having someone stay with you overnight after the eyelid lift is advisable.
While you wait to recover, you need to stay away from the public to reduce the risk of infections, so inform the office about your absence beforehand. Keep these essentials at home before going for your surgery:
- An ice pack or any other suitable alternative, such as frozen fruits or ice-filled freezer bags
- Ice cubes
- Eye drops
- Clean towels or washcloths
- Painkillers as recommended by your doctor (or injection-certified pharmacists).
What Are the Options of Eyelid Lift Surgery?
Eyelid lift surgery can be performed on the upper eyelid, lower eyelid, or both. An eyelid lift often requires a local anesthetic or general anesthetic based on the scope and duration of the surgery. An upper eyelid lift can take up to one hour, while lower lid surgeries can take about two hours.
Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty: This surgery removes skin and fat from the upper eyelid. Upper eyelid surgery is ideal for people whose eyes always have a tired look that makes them appear unhappy or less alert.
If the skin on your upper eyelids is sagging, wrinkled or obscure your upper eyelashes, an upper eyelid lift can help correct the problem and give you a youthful and more alert look.
The procedure often involves an incision along the eyelid crease in pre-marked areas of the eyelid’s natural skin fold. Next, the surgeon removes excess skin, muscle or fat. The last stage is closing the cut to hide the scar in the natural fold of the eyelid.
Lower Eyelid Blepharoplasty: Lower eyelid surgery is a cosmetic procedure performed for people with sagging or puffy bags under their eyes. This surgery can make you look younger by removing or repositioning the fat cells in the lower eyelid.
For lower eyelid surgeries, the surgeon makes a cut on the inside of the eyelid or below the lower lashes. The next step is to remove or move fat or skin from the bags beneath the skin. The last stage is to stitch up the incision.
There are many techniques for performing a blepharoplasty. The plastic surgeon can use Botox injections, threads, and fibroblast plasma pen depending on the patient’s desired outcomes.
If you need a brow lift procedure, the plastic surgeon lifts and tightens the skin above the eyes through an incision above the brow. There will be small but visible scars after the procedure.
Recovery
After your eyelid lift surgery, the following are things to remember for a full recovery.
After an eyelid lift, staying home for about a week is best to recover fully.
You will have stitches in your eyelids for about a week before your surgeon removes them.
The signs of the procedure may still be on your face for more than a week after surgery, and it won’t be easy to drive.
There may be scars, bruises and redness on your face, but they will disappear a few weeks after surgery.
Support your head with a pillow while resting to reduce puffiness.
Use recommended eye drops or ointment to clean your eyelids.
Apply ice packs to your eyes for the first few days after the operation.
Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun and breeze if you need to go out.
You may feel mild pain but can suppress it with a prescribed painkiller.
Avoid smoking during recovery.
Potential Side Effects
Apart from the common culprits such as swelling, bruising and scarring, the following complications can occur in rare cases after an eyelid lift surgery.
- Bleeding
- Puffiness
- Infection
- Dry eyes
- Abnormal folding of eyelid skin
If you have any complications, contact your surgeon immediately, especially if it comes with pain.
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