Eyelid surgery BrisbaneÂ
7-10 days for upper eyelids, 5-6 days for lower eyelids. Eyelid surgery is known as blepharoplasty. Blepharoplasy can be conducted on the upper eyelids, lower eyelid or both.
When is there a need to undertake eyelid surgery? Medically if your upper eyelids are so droopy that it obstructs your vision. This is rarely the case, as most patients that I see do not wait till the time your lids drape over your eyes!
Most of my patients request fresher looking eyes will less droop. There are two ways we can achieve better looking, fresher, younger, less droopy eyes- firstly with surgery and secondly with laser. How do I know what works best? It’s called a pinch test. If you have marked laxity on the pinch test, surgery is the best option, as this can reliably predict how much skin to remove. Surgery is most often conducted on the upper lids, whilst laser is most commonly conducted on the lower eyelids- unless skin laxity is so marked on the lower lids, in this case a surgical technique is preferable.
The recovery times will depend on the area (upper or lower lids) as well as the procedure (laser or surgical blepharoplasty). Lower lid surgery has the fastest healing time (5-6 days) and least amount of swelling. This is because oedema or swelling can track down your cheek without any obstruction. Upper eyelid surgery is associated with a longer healing up time. With laser surgery the swelling is most marked for the first two days. Healing up times for laser surgery to the upper lids is approximately 8-10 days. Laser can be use to perform eyelid surgery Brisbane.Â
Surgical upper lid blepharoplasty heals up in 7-10 days. The longer healing time is due to gravity. Unlike lower lid surgery, swelling in your upper eyelids has to trek down the sides of your nose, and sides of your eyes, hence the prolonged healing times compared to lower lid blepharoplasty. In fact the optimal results are seen 4-5 weeks post surgery, as mild swelling will still be present at 2-4 weeks.
There are several things you can do to help speed up recovery following surgery. Firstly you must avoid any blood-thinning agents or medications that makes bleeding harder to control – this includes aspirin, anti-inflammatories, oral vitamin E and most importantly Fish Oil. Bleeding can result in complications, prolonged swelling, bruising and recovery times. Rest and ice post laser can also aid in recovery and reduce swelling. A detailed instruction sheet will be provided after your eyelid surgery procedure.
For laser eyelid blepharoplasty patients, total healing of your skin will take several weeks, as I often laser not only the eyelids, but the surround skin. This ‘blend’ treats wrinkles surrounding the eyelids (such as the crows feet area) and also reduces any chances of de-markation lines. An extra caution that is needed with laser eyelid surgery is the use of sunscreen after your skin heals- this can reduce the chances of PIH or skin colour changes (darkening of the skin). Sun protection must be adhered to for up to 6 weeks after laser blepharoplasty. Dr Davin Lim performs all variations of eye rejuvenation and eyelid surgery Brisbane- this includes surgical, laser and dermal fillers to rejuvenate the eyes.Â