Alters the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids or both

A procedure that removes excess fatty tissue and/or loose skin surrounding the eyes to give the area a more rejuvenated appearance.

Eyelid surgery aims to smooth out the hallmarks of ageing and is one of the most effective anti-ageing surgeries available.

As part of the ageing process redundant skin gathers on both the upper and lower eyelids. This is often accompanied by a bulging of eyelid fatty tissue in the form of “bags” around the eyes. In order to restore a more youthful appearance your surgeon must attend to each of the ageing tissues in turn.

Incisions are carefully hidden within natural skin creases around the eye for the best cosmetic result.

Excessive, redundant skin is delicately removed before attending to the underlying fatty tissue. Historically much of this bulging fat was simply removed, however this created a very hollowed appearance that, paradoxically, had an ageing effect.

Whenever possible, I prefer to return fatty eye tissue to its original position so accentuating the rejuvenating effect in the most natural way possible. Depending on an individual patient’s anatomy, a canthopexy, or eyelid tightening, may also be necessary. This creates an almond eye shape that is only temporary and settles with time leaving natural results. Downtime is minimal and once the stitches have been removed a week later the surgery is barely detectable – especially with just an upper eyelift. If bags are removed from the lower eye area, there may be some swelling or bruising that lasts up to two weeks but this varies with every individual. For women this can be camouflaged with make-up, whereas men may need up to two weeks away from work.

Plastic surgery confined to the upper or lower eyelids can be performed as a day-surgery procedure, however when performed together, necessitates overnight admission to hospital. Blepharoplasty may be performed alone or in combination with other procedures, such as brow lift and/or facelift.

FAQ – Upper Eyelid Lift

The surgery takes 30-60 minutes and can be performed as a day procedure.

Minimal. Sutures are removed 5-7 days after the surgery. If you work in the public eye you may wish to take the full 5-7 days off work, however if you work behind a screen or can work from home then you can return to work much sooner.

There is usually very little bruising or swelling. Resting with your head supported by extra pillows and ice packs applied to your eyes in the immediately post-operative period will minimise the chance of either eventuality.

There is almost no post-operative pain after upper eyelid lift. What little pain you may experience can be easily controlled with simple pain relief such as Panadol.

FAQ - Lower Eyelid Lift

Yes it will, and a lower eyelid lift will also remove the excess crepey skin from you lower eyelid.

Small bags under a patient’s eyes can be concealed with fillers but larger bags are best removed surgically. Similarly a small excess of crepey lower eyelid skin can be tightened non-surgically with dermal peals, Dermastamp or light-based therapies but larger amounts of excess lower eyelid skin are best removed surgically.

The scars for a lower eyelid lift are located immediately under the lower eyelid lashes. As such they are extremely well camouflaged and are difficult to see.

One to two weeks is all you will need off work after the surgery.

I prefer my patients to stay in the hospital for one night. The reason is that if you experience a post-operative bleed, it can cause blindness. This is an incredibly rare complication and one I have never experienced, so I would rather keep it that way. If you do experience a post-operative bleed a quick return to the operating theatre will correct the problem. And the quickest way to return to the operating theatre is having you stay overnight. In addition to this point the nurses in hospital can keep an eagle eye on you so earliest treatment is possible.

Lower eyelid lift surgery does not change the shape of your eyes but a canthopexy (lower eyelid tightening) is sometimes performed at the same time and this does temporarily change the shape of your eyes. The canthopexy creates a cat-like or oriental eye shape and is protective against swelling in the early post-operative period. The effect wears off over a period of weeks.

As mentioned above the greatest risk of lower eyelid surgery is blindness, which is mercifully rare. It is caused by post-operative bleeding and can be effectively prevented if patients stay one night in hospital. Another potential problem with lower eyelid surgery is eyelid malpositioning. In effect the patient’s eyelid sits lower than it should and usually relates to post-operative swelling. A canthopexy temporarily tightens the lower eyelid and mitigates against this eventuality.

Your prescription will not change as a result of the surgery but it is worthwhile having your eyes testing pre-operatively.

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