FAQ's
Blepharoplasty is performed as a day case procedure, with discharge on the same day.The recovery is fairly quick and patients are able to get back to their day to day activities within a few days. This makes the procedure easy to undergo. Having said that, no surgery should be taken lightly and due care and precautions must be followed as advised.
Prior to the procedure, Dr. Sneha will make some markings on your face. Type of anesthesia will depend on your treatment plan, made by Dr. Sneha and you , after discussing all the options and their pros and cons. The procedure itself may take anything between 30min-3 hours, depending on your personalised plan. After the procedure, you can go home on the same day, usually within a few hours. Dr. Sneha finds most patients tolerate the procedure well.
No, blepharoplasty is not painful at all. Dr. Sneha will use medicine around your eye to numb it. The type of anesthesia given to you will be a part of the treatment plan made by Dr. Sneha and you, after discussing all the options and their pros and cons.
Blepharoplasty may be performed
Under local anesthesia- wherein you will be awake and aware of your surroundings, but will not feel any pain.
Local anesthesia with sedation- you will be given medicine which will make you drowsy, along with the numbing agent.
General anesthesia
In any case, adequate numbing medicine/ anesthesia is given prior to starting the procedure and Dr. Sneha will ensure that you are comfortable during surgery.
Stitches, if applied to the skin, are usually removed in a week. Having said that, many a times Dr. Sneha uses glue instead of stitches which obviates any need for suture removal in the post operative period.
Patients recover fairly quickly after Blepharoplasty. Since eyelids are extremely sensitive and delicate, some amount of swelling and bruising IS expected after surgery, which generally increases in the first 24 hours, before starting to reduce. The first 3-4 days may feel a bit uncomfortable, with watering and heavyness. Most people are able to return to their day to day activities within a week and to work and social life within 2-3 weeks, with a little make up. However, it must be kept in mind, that different people heal differently. Although 80% of swelling is usually gone by 1-2 weeks, you should wait till 6 weeks to evaluate the final result.
There are many things that you can do, to help aid in faster recovery.
Try to sit upright as much as possible to help reduce the swelling. At night, use an extra pillow to ensure that your head is above the level of the heart and avoid any form of straning, such as coughing, lifting weights or straining on stools.
It is advised that you keep a freezable eye mask, prior to your operation and alternate applying this to the eyes with something cold from the freezer (such as a bag of frozen peas) or another eye mask.
Apply cold compresses to the eyelid area intermittently for 48 hours. It is recommended to apply for at least 5min every waking hour. Never apply ice packs directly on the skin.
Lymphatic massage may help reduce the swelling and hasten recovery. This will be demonstrated to you before discharge and can be performed 3-4 times in a day. Often patients like to do this while watching television and find it relaxing as well.
Absolutely. The Upper eyelid is one of the first parts of your face to change with age and mindfully addressing this during surgery is sure to make you look younger.
Dr. Sneha commonly performs Scarless Blepharoplasty, where no scar is made externally on the skin. A skin wound, if made, closes within a week. but for complete healing it takes nearly 6 weeks to 3 months. Healing, anywhere in the body, follows an exponential graph, with maximum healing occurring within the first few days to weeks, but takes much longer for the last bit. Having said that, Blepharoplasty scars heal beautifully. In most cases, it is barely noticeable, and even if so, easily camouflaged.
It is usually possible to wear make-up after 10-14 days, even earlier, if there are no stitches.