When undergoing a surgical procedure to refresh your eye area, it’s natural to feel apprehensive about your results. After all, the skin around your eyes is delicate, and you don’t want to negatively affect your appearance. You’ll be happy to learn that blepharoplasty or eyelid surgery improves the appearance of your eyes as well as your overall look.
Choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon with the skills and knowledge to work on such a fragile area is essential. Let’s dive into how a blepharoplasty works, the expected results, and how this procedure can rejuvenate your eyes and face.
How Does Blepharoplasty Work?
The surgery is performed in the office using local anesthesia, sometimes with light sedation. It usually takes less than 1 hour to complete. You can have an upper blepharoplasty, a lower blepharoplasty, or both depending on your goals.
- Upper blepharoplasty: Your surgeon will remove lax skin, muscle, and excess fat from the upper eyelid area. This will make your eyes look more open and youthful, giving you a natural wide-eyed appearance.
- Lower blepharoplasty: Removes sagging skin and muscle and repositions or removes fat under the eye to create a more rested look. After surgery, the area under your eyes will look smoother and less baggy, and you will look revitalized.
Will I Look Different After Eyelid Surgery?
If you are wondering if you will look different after surgery, the answer is yes, in a way. You will still look like yourself, just dramatically more alert and refreshed, as you can see in some of my patients’ before and after pictures below. You can also combine your blepharoplasty with a brow lift to enhance your eyelid surgery results.
Drooping Upper/Lower Eyelids
Eyelid surgery tightens sagging and drooping eyelids for a more youthful-looking appearance. There are several reasons this condition occurs, including genetics and collagen loss due to aging. When your eyes look more alert and open, your whole appearance and outlook are reinvigorated.
Improve Your Field of Vision
Although drooping upper eyelids are typically an aesthetic issue, in some cases, they can obstruct your field of vision and interfere with your daily life. Blepharoplasty removes the excess upper eyelid skin to improve your field of vision.
Treat Puffy Under-Eyes
As you get older, fatty tissue can collect in the undereye area and make your eyes look puffy and aged. Treating the areas with eye creams or ice packs can help reduce puffiness but only temporarily. Eyelid surgery repositions or reduces the fat in the lower eye area and tightens saggy skin so you can look more vibrant and youthful.
Improve Your Confidence
Your eyes are a prominent feature on your face and one of the first things other people notice about you. You may feel uncomfortable in a social or professional setting due to saggy or drooping eyelids and puffy under-eye bags. Improving the appearance of your eyes with blepharoplasty can boost your confidence and reflect your youthful spirit.
Will I Have Scarring After Eyelid Surgery?
Many people are also concerned about whether postsurgical scarring will affect how they look after surgery. Although there is potential for scarring after any surgical procedure, eyelid surgery scars are usually not noticeable. They are hidden along the eyelid’s natural crease for upper blepharoplasty and on the lower lash line or within the lower eyelid for lower eyelid surgery.
An experienced plastic surgeon will make meticulous incisions that allow you to heal with minimal scarring.
Keep in mind that the skin on your eyelids is extremely thin and will heal easier and faster than in other areas of your body. You can help the healing process and minimize scarring by following your postoperative instructions to the letter and caring for your skin.
How To Minimize Scarring After Eyelid Surgery
Here are some easy steps to minimize scarring after your procedure.
- Follow your provider’s aftercare instructions.
- Don’t rub or massage your eyelids until after they have healed. Once they have healed, though, you can massage your incision scars to minimize them—just be sure to do this softly with just your fingertips.
- Eat a balanced diet and stay well hydrated.
- Protect your skin with a broad-spectrum sunscreen and good sunglasses when you go outdoors.
- Use a moisturizer daily after your incisions have healed to keep the skin around your eyes soft and supple.
With little scarring, downtime, and pain, blepharoplasty can beautifully revitalize your appearance without changing your unique qualities. In our photo gallery, you can see more before and after photos of my patients who enlivened their appearance with blepharoplasty.
To discuss whether you are a good candidate for this procedure or another facial surgery, request a consultation at my Nashville-area practice or call us at (615) 942-8016 to schedule an appointment.
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