Taking medication containing aspirin is prohibited during the 10 days preceding the operation, you will be told in clinics like lovely eye clinic for instance.
Stopping smoking is strongly recommended 10 days before and one week after the intervention (tobacco can cause delayed healing).
Intervention
In principle, an eyelid lift, if not associated with other surgeries treating the face, such as a cervicofacial lift, lasts between 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on the number of eyelids to be treated and the type of correction to bring. According to the surgeons generally, blepharoplasty is performed under local anesthesia (or assisted local anesthesia).
A good practitioner will be precise to avoid over-correction, which would make the result overdone or unnatural.
Skin incisions concealed in natural folds are made at the location of future scars.
Concerning the upper eyelids: they are hidden in the groove located halfway up the eyelid, between the mobile part and the fixed part of the eyelid.
Concerning the lower eyelids: if excess skin must be treated, they are placed 1 to 2 mm under the eyelashes and can extend slightly beyond (correction of crow’s feet). In case of isolated “pockets” (without excess skin to be removed), trans-conjunctival blepharoplasty (incisions placed inside the eyelids) will be indicated, thus leaving no visible scar on the skin.
Blepharoplasty may be juxtaposed with other surgical procedures such as:
Lipofilling consists of taking a small amount of fat from the patient and reinjecting it into dark circles, thus reducing or erasing the sunken appearance.
The practitioner can make a palpebral furrow for patients of Asian origin who are genetically lacking it.
A canthopexy can restore an “almond” shape to a naturally sad look or drape by tightening the lower eyelid (ectropion).
Thus, unsightly fat hernias are removed, and excess muscle and loose skin are eradicated.
The sutures are then made with fine threads, usually non-absorbable (to be removed after a few days).
The Postoperative Course
It is advisable to take plenty of rest for the first few days, avoiding any violent effort. Little pain is caused in the first 24 hours; patients may feel some discomfort with a feeling of tension in the eyelids.
Medically, the postoperative course is essentially marked by:
Edema (swelling) and ecchymoses (bruises) remain variable depending on the patient’s skin sensitivity. These small inconveniences disappear after 4 or even 7 days and are quickly camouflaged with a concealer.
In the event of marked edema, the daily application of cold saline compresses will be recommended for the anti-inflammatory action of the cold.
Dry eyes leading to slight eye irritation may appear during the first few days. It will be prevented or even treated by applying moisturizing eye drops (drops of physiological saline).
If the operation concerns the upper eyelids or has been performed for the lower eyelids via the subsidiary route, the sutures are removed between the 4th and 6th day after the operation.
The scars may remain a little pink for the first few weeks.
These elements arising from the transaction will gradually diminish. The return to a socio-professional life will be effective a few days after the operation (4 to 7 days depending on the case). Make-up is authorized again from the 7th postoperative day.
