Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty) - upperlid and lowerlid correction, tired-looking eyes, festoons, hoods, bags, around eye skin at Plastic Surgery Truth.com

Surgical treatments around the eye are comparatively uncomplicated while achieving considerable results. Festoons, lachrymal sacs and crow’s feet can easily be eliminated, and tired-looking eyes will look fresh and radiant again

Blepharoplasty, the medical term for lifting the upper or lower eyelid or removing the lachrymal sacs, is one of the most popular aesthetic procedures with both men and women. Requiring comparatively little surgical work, tired or sad-looking eyes can be given a radiant, youthful appearance. Corrections are mostly performed on upper and lower eyelids with festoons (“hoods” or “bags” respectively), and crow’s feet around the eyes. Festoons often appear when the delicate skin surrounding the eyes loses its strength, usually around the age of 40 or 50. Similarly, the eyebrows may droop with age.

Blepharoplasty plastic surgery (upper eyelid surgery)

Upper eyelid lift: After a local anaesthetic has been administered, a scalpel or CO2 laser is used to cut along the fold of the eyelid. This removes the excess skin as well as the muscle and fatty tissue underneath it. The wound is closed with a tiny suture inside the skin, a subcuticular suture. If a laser beam is used, the wound takes longer to heal, whereas a scalpel operation requires additional haemostasis. Swellings are soothed with cooling pads. The stitches are removed after five days.

Lower eyelid lift: This procedure is comparatively risky. If too much skin is removed from the eyelid, the cornea may get inflamed or too dry. If too much subcutaneous fat is removed, the eye may look hollow or skeletal.

Despite its inherent risks, this is the only effective procedure for treating skin laxity and deposits of fat or fluid in the skin. The incision line is cut 1-2 millimetres bellow the edge of the lower eyelid. Using a laser is especially advantageous when operating on the lower eyelid – the fatty tissue is easier to access and remove from the conjunctiva located below the eyeball. The laser beam’s heat also seals the blood vessels, so sutures aren’t needed. A disadvantage of this method is the prolonged wound-healing period. The skin may be reddened for up to six weeks after the procedure. If the festoon is very pronounced, the only way to operate is still with a scalpel.

The upper eyelid correction, which removes so-called festoons, is a quick surgical procedure that achieves and effective and long-lasting change. After the excess skin is carefully excised, previously having been outlined on the skin surface, the eye looks much more “awake”. Even greater care needs to be exercised with lower eyelid corrections (lachrymal sac operations) so that the eyelid will not droop after the procedure. A tiny incision is made exactly along the border of the eyelash line and the problematic excess tissue is removed – this tissue is filled with lymph and needs to be excised completely to achieve a satisfactory result. After the fatty tissue is removed, the excess skin is carefully shortened so that the lid is not wrinkled. Both treatments are outpatient procedures that only require a local anesthetic – for eye, the operation usually only takes no more than an hour and very often is performed together with facelift. Around eye swelling will recede after a week. The changes should be effective for several years.

NOTE:
Before the procedure takes place, you should ascertain that you indeed require a correction of the upper eyelid – in many cases, a brow or eyebrow lift will be more successful! Sometimes, both procedures are necessary. In the first couple of days after eyelid surgery, you should always sleep on your back with a raised pillow. Make-up and contact lenses shouldn’t be used for eight days. For the first tow weeks after the operation, sunglasses should be worn when outside.

Hospital stay: No more than one day per procedure.
Social contacts: After one week.