Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)

Your eyes often are the first feature to begin showing age. This is due to the skin around your eyes being much thinner than the rest of the skin on your face. (Twice as thin, in fact.) With fewer oil glands and a hard daily workout, it's no wonder your eyes and eyelids begin to show age sooner.

Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is a perfect solution for many people. It removes bags and pouches of excess skin both under and over the eyes.

It can also be combined with forehead and/or eyebrow lifts, or complete facelifts. Eyelid surgery also tends to have more permanent effects than some other procedures.

How it works

Eyelid surgery may take anywhere from one to three hours. Dr. Alexander carefully creates incisions along your natural skin creases and removes the excess skin and fat cells that gave your lids a heavy look or created bags under your eyes.

Dr. Alexander uses local anesthesia with sedation for minimal discomfort for patients. Local anesthesia tends to be associated with less bleeding during eyelid lift surgery, enhanced precision, faster recovery, increased safety, and more predictable results.

Recovery

Most patients experience mild aching or burning, which can be controlled with mild pain relievers and/or cold compresses.

Swelling tends to be minimal to moderate, with the morning after eyelid surgery being the worst. Swelling is mostly gone within 7 to 10 days. A tiny amount may persist for a few months, however.

Moderate discoloration that most patients experience begins to fade a few days after blepharoplasty and is mostly gone within 7 to 10 days.

While typical daily activities can be resumed within two days of surgery, strenuous activity should be avoided for at least one week.

Consultations

Anyone considering facial plastic surgery should take the time to learn as much as possible about the procedures. Ask about a free cosmetic consultation with Dr. Alexander to discuss the procedures that might help you attain the appearance you want.