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BLEPHAROPLASTY | EYE SURGERY
Sometimes, even after a great night's sleep, it can be hard to feel alive and vibrant when you see those tired, drooping eyes looking back at you from the mirror. The loose skin over your eyes and the prominent bags under your eyes make you look more tired and older than you feel inside.
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Each year thousands of women and men choose eyelid surgery to help restore a more energetic and youthful appearance. Eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty can reduce puffiness of the lower eyelids caused by fatty pouches and reduce puffiness and extra skin from the upper eyelids. Blepharoplasty can be done alone or in conjunction with other facial surgery procedures such as a face lift, neck lift, a brow lift, or laser skin resurfacing.
Your Consultation
During your initial cosmetic consultation, our patient care coordinator and surgeon will discuss your particular condition, your expectations, and the probable outcome of treatment. You will be shown several before and after treatment photographs of patients having similar conditions, and you will receive an explanation of your treatment.
What About Recovery?
The procedure is performed with local anesthesia alone. The eye area is swollen with minimal bruising for one week. You should keep your head elevated with a few pillows at night and place cold compresses on your eyes about 4 times per hour during the first night. You can't wear contact lenses for about seven when the lower eyelids are treated since the eyelids may be stiff and sore. Make-up may be worn after about five to seven days. The resulting hairline scars which follow the natural contour of the upper eyelids tend to fade in about two months. The lower eyelids have no visible scarring.
After cosmetic surgery, our patients have a natural and more youthful look to their faces. Many seem to have a new spring in their step after facing their fresher reflections in the mirror.
The Procedure
Blepharoplasty is performed in the office or in our outpatient surgical facility with local anesthesia. For the upper eyelids, the surgeon places fine incisions in the natural eyelid crease. A thin crescent of excess skin is removed and additional muscle or fat may be sculpted. The incisions are closed with very fine sutures. To remove the fatty deposits beneath the eyes, the incisions are placed just inside the lower eyelid known as the transconjunctival approach. Dr. Morganroth uses the carbon dioxide laser to incise the eyelid, remove the fat, and cauterize blood vessels. After the fat is removed, the incisions are left to heal naturally. In cases where the lower eyelid skin is loose and wrinkled, the carbon dioxide laser is used to resurface the eyelid skin to tighten and smooth the skin. Unlike the traditional lower eyelift performed through the front of the eyelid, the carbon dioxide laser transconjunctival approach has minimal risk of changing the eyelid shape and has not visible scarring. Both procedures take less than one hour each.
What About Insurance?
Almost all patients elect to have their eyelid rejuvenation for cosmetic reasons. In rare cases, patients with excessive upper eyelid skin may meet the criteria of their insurance company for coverage of their upper eyelid surgery. In patients who appear to meet the criteria for insurance coverage, they are referred to an ophthalmologist for peripheral field vision testing to determine if the upper eyelid lift provides benefit for their vision. It is the patient's responsibility to check with their insurance provider for the information on the degree of coverage. We will be happy to answer any questions.