Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty

Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty

About Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty Also referred to as eyelid surgery, a blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure that can help with droopy eyelids and other signs of aging. We do this by repositioning or removing excess fat, skin, and stretch muscles. As we get older, the support muscles of our eyes begin to weaken. Fat gathers in the space remaining. With an upper eyelid blepharoplasty, we target the parts of your eyes most affected by these changes. Furthermore, it can be combined with a lower eyelid blepharoplasty if desired. The procedure itself involves our experience surgeons making a cut within the crease found naturally above the eyelid, often just beneath the brow. After the cut is made, we can remove excess skin, fat, and muscle before closing the cut with stitches.



Benefits of Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty and What to Expect

By removing the excess tissue causing baggy and drooping eyes, we can help you fight the major signs of aging that impact the eyes with an upper eyelid blepharoplasty. Some people naturally have baggy or droopy eyelids and this procedure can help them appear much more alert and more youthful. Furthermore, some people experience diminished peripheral vision. Gravity causes the excess skin of droopy eyelids to cover parts of their vision, but we can remove them, restoring your sight to what it should be.

Your results and how long you can expect them to last can differ, though they are often permanent. It usually takes anywhere up to two weeks for the eyes to heal, after which some signs of scarring may remain, but will continue to fade and improve over the coming months. While the results of an upper eyelid blepharoplasty are a permanent improvement for most, some do experience that droopiness or excess fat and skin can return.

Potential Candidates for UpperEyelid Blepharoplasty

Through a consultation at Shonan Beauty, we can help ensure that you’re a good candidate for this procedure and know what to expect. If you have excessive skin, see your eyelids are starting to sag, and we can find fatty deposits in or around them, you are likely to be a perfectly suitable candidate for blepharoplasty. However, all cosmetic surgical procedures are best performed on those in general good health. It is recommended that you provide a complete medical history and inform us of any conditions or medications that are applicable. If you are a smoker, the surgery may not be immediately recommended, and we may suggest that you quit smoking for weeks or months before your next consultation.

Pain Management

There is some pain to expect during the procedure, but with the use of local or general anesthesia, you should experience none. Local anesthetics will keep you awake but numb the area around the eye so that you don’t feel anything. For a single eyelid procedure, this is often preferred so we can test the reactions of the muscles surrounding the area during the procedure. However, for multiple procedures, we may recommend a general anesthetic, instead. This will result in you being completely asleep during the procedure and unaware of what your surgeon is doing until you wake up after it.
 
 

Downtime After the Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty Procedure

After the surgery, you may experience some mild swelling and potentially some bruising as well. These will get better before they get worse, and you will experience them predominantly during the first three days following the surgery. Most patients do not need to use pain medication during this time, however. Otherwise, we will recommend using an ice pack to quell the swelling, as well as a topical antibiotic, such as an ointment, on the incision line to reduce the risk of infection. After five to seven days, we will inspect the eye and remove the stiches if recovery is going as planned. From there, it will take up to two weeks for a total recovery, but the appearance should continue to improve for months after the surgery. The pink scars will slowly fade and, by the end, should be invisible. Within those two weeks, however, it’s recommended that you avoid exercise and strenuous activity, and protect your eyes from sunlight. Most are able and willing to return to work and life as usual within a week following the procedure.

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

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Commonly Asked Questions

Will I need a repeat surgery?
In the majority of cases, the results of an upper eyelid blepharoplasty should last you for a lifetime. However, in some cases, drooping or excess fat may return. If it does, it is very unlikely to be to the same extent as before the surgery, meaning that your appearance should still be improved. However, in the case that drooping or baggy eyes do return, a repeat procedure can be arranged.
Are there risks associated with the procedure?:
All surgical procedures carry some form of risk, and these can include: changes in sensation, scarring, infection, bleeding, adverse reaction to anesthesia, and more. However, upper eyelid blepharoplasty is in most cases without any complication and, if they do happen, they tend to be minor.
Does it look natural?
After a few months following the surgery, any sign that you had a procedure should disappear completely. The bruising and swelling that tends to happen directly after should be gone within a week. In many cases, the light pink scar that remains may not be visible, due to being hidden in the fold of the eye. Regardless, it will continue to fade over the following months to the point that it is nearly invisible. Because we’re not adding anything to the eyes, the results should look entirely natural.
 

Additional Facts

An upper eyelid blepharoplasty is a quick, safe way to remove excess fat, stretching skin, and to reduce the appearance of puffy eyebags and dark circles. To ensure the best possible results, arrange your consultation with Shonan Beauty at Thousand Oaks or Irvine.