Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty (pronounced blef-re-plastee), is a procedure that will lift and reinvigorate mature or fatigued appearing eyelids. It will also tighten and diminish puffy bags below your eyes. By tightening the tissue of the eye and diminishing obvious signs of aging, blepharoplasty can refresh your appearance and create a more youthful expression.

Blepharoplasty is also used to add an upper eyelid crease to Asian eyes. It will not, however, remove crow's feet or other wrinkles, eliminate dark circles under your eyes, or lift sagging eyebrows.

Blepharoplasty can be done alone or in conjunction with other procedures such as browlift, BOTOX, facial sculpting, or laser resurfacing. When done with laser resurfacing or facial sculpting to reduce wrinkles a more rejuvenated look to your eyes and overall appearance may result.

It is good to understand your expectations and how blepharoplasty can help you achieve them. Please ask us if you are a good candidate for upper and lower lid blepharoplasty, and other procedures that may be beneficial to you.

In a typical procedure, our doctors make incisions following the natural lines of your eyelids (in the crease of your upper lids and just below the lashes in the lower lids) which reduces any appearance of scars. The surgeon removes from under the skin excess fatty tissue, trims sagging skin, or shortens lax muscle. The incisions are then closed with very fine sutures. We use sutures that will dissolve on their own and not need to be removed. Non-dissolvable sutures may need to be used in some instances and if that is the case you will be told to make a separate appointment to have them removed. We ensure a quality recovery period with close follow-up appointments for all our patients.

The best candidates for eyelid surgery are men and women who are physically healthy, psychologically stable, and realistic in their expectations. Most are 35 or older, but if droopy, baggy eyelids run in your family, you may decide to have eyelid surgery at a younger age.

Blepharoplasty is an out-patient procedure, which means you will be able to leave the hospital or surgery center the same day of the surgery. The procedure takes about 1-3 hours. Anesthesia is mild and is either local or a monitored anesthesia that puts you in a "twilight state;" you will not be completely asleep but will be relaxed, comfortable, and have little if any recollection of the procedure. Pain associated with blepharoplasty is generally mild and a pain-killer will be prescribed to alleviate any you may experience. Recovery time is short and varies with each person, but expect bruising to be present for about two weeks after surgery. Two weeks is the recommended recovery period.

As with any surgery, possible risks associated with blepharoplasty exist and should be discussed prior to surgery. Ask our doctors about your level of risk. You can help minimize complications by following the physicians, staff, and anesthesiologists direction and advice. Most severe complications are rare.

For more information, call us for a consultation at 952-925-4161 and reference the Your Surgery and the Healing Supplements sections of this website. For After Surgery Care guidelines for Blepharoplasty, click here.