What You Need to Know Beforehand
Which type of eyelid lift is right for me?
Your age, skin quality and your anatomic proportions are key in choosing the eyelid lift technique best suited to you. We will discuss with you if either a open technique (subciliar approach) or a transconjunctival (from inside the eyelid) is more appropriate, furthermore we will examine and explain if any changes to your periorbital, brow or cheek region are recommendable to achieve the desired effect.
Can my skin be addressed in combination with blepharoplasty?
If your periorbital skin shows signs of photoageing like stains, pigmentation, fine lines / rhytids and a general loss of brilliance a peeling maybe recommended by us and performed at the same time as your eyelid lift surgery to minimize downtime.
Where are the eyelid surgery scars placed?
Depending on your age, skin excess, facial anatomy and the desired periorbital rejuvenation effect the scars are mostly placed within the natural crease of your upper eyelid and just below the eyelashes of your lower eyelid. In some cases the lower eyelid maybe addressed from inside the eye through the conjunctiva. The scars are normally hardly visible after 2-3 months.
How is the eyelid surgery performed?
This kind of procedure is mostly performed under deep iv sedation (Twilight sleep) combined with loco-regional anesthesia or purely under local anesthesia. You will sleep throughout the procedure, but you will be able to move arms and legs like in normal sleep, which lowers the risk for thrombosis. The procedure is generally pain free and takes between 1-2 hours.
How long is the recovery of eyelid surgery?
Recovery is 7- 10 days, with some swelling and bruising during the first 7 days. Stitches maybe removed by day 7 and swelling and bruising have mostly subsided after 10 days. Makeup can be worn after a week. There may be some numbness of the skin and hardness of the subcutaneous skin layers during the first 4-6 weeks before recovery is complete.
After Surgery and Beyond
Blepharoplasty aftercare
The Ocean Clinic concept is to avoid any unnecessary pain and discomfort. Most of our eyelid lift procedures are performed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. This concept allows for a complete pain –free procedure with our patients being sedated only for their comfort. Postoperative pain in eyelid surgery is rare most of our patients only have a slight feeling of pressure around the eyes for 24 h- 48 h treated with oral pain medication.
Most patients can go home on the same day and come for a check -up the day after; stiches are removed after 7 days. During the first 4 weeks postoperative our patients will be referred to our unique physiotherapeutic aftercare for quicker recovery and less swelling.
Do not lift any objects beyond 5kg and avoid sports involving weights during 14 days.
Blepharoplasty procedure related risks
Eyelid surgery has very few complications if carried out by an experienced surgeon in an accredited facility. Rare complications include postoperative bleeding requiring revision, asymmetries of the eye due to pulling of the scar (Ectropium), unsatisfactory scar healing requiring scar correction at a later date and prolonged recovery due to swelling and / or hematoma.
Changes of sensibility of the skin are expected during the early postoperative period and disappear with time.
How long does a eyelid lift last?
Most patients have a very satisfying result for 8-10 years or more. However, facial ageing continuous after any procedure, therefore many of our patients choose to have touch-up procedure or alternative treatments after 10 years.
Blepharoplasty alternative treatments
Facial Fat grafting alone is a possible alternative technique if the laxity of skin and muscle is not too pronounced and the hollowness around the eyes one of the issues to be treated. More than 1 session may be necessary, as the body absorbs a certain amount of transplanted fat. It may be an option if you wish a shorter procedure without incisions, but the results are less dramatic than with an eyelid lift.
A deep dermal skin resurfacing with a Phenol Peel can be a valid treatment alternative for skin with very pronounced Elastosis and Photo-Ageing. This method has dramatic results with periorbital rejuvenation, but recovery is longer than with the surgical eyelid lift and results and suitability are skin-type dependent.
Ocean Clinics experience in eyelid surgery
Our surgeons performed more than 1000 blepharoplasty procedures within the last 10 years. Our clinic is a worldwide leader in combining surgical periorbital rejuvenation techniques with Facial fat grafting for re-volumizing of the ageing orbit and skin resurfacing with Peels to address the skin texture of the periorbital /eyelid region to remove imperfections like age spots and discolorations in one single treatment session. Many of these techniques have been published in international peer-reviewed journals and are on the forefront of new field of 3-dimensional facial rejuvenation.
