Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty

What is Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty?

Description

Eyelid droop or excess skin of the upper eyelid can give off a tired and aged appearance. You may feel great on the inside however it is not conveyed in the appearance of your eyes; family and friends may even ask ‘are you tired?’ If you have encountered these moments, an eyelid lift (blepharoplasty) may be a beneficial procedure for you. A cosmetic upper eyelid blepharoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to help restore youthfulness of your eyes so your appearance reflects who you are on the inside. To further rejuvenate the upper eyelid area, a brow lift can be combined with the blepharoplasty for the best aesthetic results. Ask Dr. Patel if a brow lift could be beneficial for you.

Procedure

The upper eyelid blepharoplasty procedure is an outpatient procedure that can be performed in the office or in the operating room with light sedation. With an upper eyelid blepharoplasty, an extremely thin incision is made in the eyelid removing the excess skin. Occasionally, Dr. Patel may remove underlying fat and/or muscle to further sculpt the eyelid for the best aesthetic result. The incision is well hidden in the eyelid to minimize any appearance of a scar. An upper eyelid blepharoplasty typically takes 30-60 minutes to perform.

Recovery

There should be minimal to no pain after the procedure. Instead, itching and tightness is the most common symptom, both of which resolve with time. Driving may be resumed after 3-7 days depending on your comfort level. Strenuous physical activity is resumed 10-14 days after surgery. Makeup may be used again in 2 weeks. There will be mild to moderate bruising and swelling after the procedure that approximately takes 2 weeks to resolve. However this timeframe does depend on the patient’s health, age, medications, and adherence to postoperative instructions. In approximately 2 weeks, you should be presentable in public.

Why choose Dr. Patel?

Dr. Patel is a board-certified ophthalmologist that further subspecialized as an oculofacial plastic surgeon having completed a two-year ASOPRS fellowship. The combined training optimizes the cosmetic result of your blepharoplasty while ensuring your eye health is not compromised. Dr. Patel has extensive experience in performing upper eyelid blepharoplasties having performed over a thousand such operations. Not all cosmetic upper eyelid blepharoplasties are performed the same as a surgeon needs to take into account the patient’s ethnicity, gender, eyelid crease height, level of fat protrusion, and brow position amongst other factors.

By having your surgery performed by an eyelid specialist such as Dr. Patel, it will allow for the best possible natural results while minimizing risks as he will develop a customized surgical plan for your unique anatomy and safe for your eyes.

FAQs

All attempts are made to minimize the amount of bruising a patient has by utilizing meticulous surgical technique. However all patients will have some degree of bruising and swelling that depends on the patient’s age, health status, medications, and adherence to post-operative instructions. In general, it takes approximately 2 weeks for most of the bruising and swelling to resolve.

All surgeries carry risks such as infection, bleeding, scarring, and pain. General risks specific to upper eyelid blepharoplasty include inability to close the eye and dry eyes. However, by trusting your eyes to an eyelid specialist such as Dr. Patel, these risks are very unlikely.

There should be minimal scar after an upper eyelid blepharoplasty and essentially invisible to anyone else. Initially, the incision may look slightly pink however this resolves over time as the scar matures over the course of 6-12 months. Scar creams may be recommended by Dr. Patel to optimize the final appearance.

If the upper eyelid blepharoplasty is performed in the operating room with sedation anesthesia, there is typically no pain during or after the procedure. If the upper eyelid blepharoplasty is performed in the office with oral sedation, there will be very mild discomfort during the injection of the local anesthetic lasting about 30 seconds per eyelid. After this, there should be no pain and music of your preference is played creating a relaxing, comfortable environment.

If the excess skin is so severe that it is drooping over the eyelashes and interferes with vision, eyelid surgery may be covered by your insurance plan. Insurance companies have stringent criteria for an upper eyelid blepharoplasty to be covered including meeting strict examination criteria, visual field testing to document degree of vision loss, and photos indicating how the excess skin blocks your vision. If the procedure is performed to improve the appearance of the eyes, then the blepharoplasty is considered a cosmetic service.

Dr. Patel is an awesome surgeon that goes over and beyond for his patients. I was originally supposed. to have a skin graft under my lower eyelid. He knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with the appearance and he explained everything to me so he tried something totally different during surgery. I’m definitely glad he was able to correct my lower lid. I just had surgery on my upper lid for a scar revision and everything looks nice. It’s hard coming across a doctor that’s willing to make you satisfied and correct the issue vs just correcting the issue. I can’t thank Patel enough for correcting my issues.

Shakeima S.

Dr. Patel gets my highest recommendation for reconstructive surgery on my lower eyelid, which had 60% of my lower eyelid, including a nickel sized piece of skin, removed underneath the eye, due to cancer. Now, my eyelid looks just like the other eyelid and he did it without a skin graft!. Most people comment, “You would never know you had reconstructive surgery.” Dr and I were very pleased with the results. Dr. Patel was very professional, is talented in his field, and thorough in explaining the procedure and follow-up instructions. He was understanding and sensitive to my concerns about my face. He also had humor, which helped when I was anxious.

Colleen H.

Dr. Patel and his staff were wonderful to work with. I had DCR surgery (Dacryocystorhinostomy) to create a new tear drain. Dr. Patel is friendly, kind, knowledgeable, and easy to understand. The staff assisted me greatly in scheduling surgery and with followup appointments. I am so happy with a perfect outcome of my new tear drain. No more tears constantly running down my face.

Diana M.

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