As we age, the muscles around the eyes become more relaxed, and the eyelids begin to droop and sag This gives a tired and aged appearance. The upper eyelids can fall onto the eyelashes, feel heavy and impair vision. Drooping of the lower eyelids may result in puffiness and bags under the eyes. What is Blepharoplasty? Blepharoplasty is the surgical procedure to reduce skin and fat excess and tighten muscles in the eyelids. In most patients the fat deposits are drooping due to muscle laxity and cautious muscle tightening or excision is all that is needed along with skin excision. Dr Sawhney performs an effective and efficient procedure in most patients with muscle tightening and limited if any fat excision. This reduces recovery time and risks of complications. Dr Sawhney prefers to perform a muscle tightening procedure that pushes some of the fat pads back to their youthful position avoiding the gaunt look from over resection of fat pads. The surgery can be performed under local or general anaesthesia depending on the patient and the procedure type. The incisions and thus resulting scars are hidden in the natural skin folds. These incisions are closed with minimal internal sutures and a combination of external sutures which are removed at your first visit. Thin Pieces of tape or “steristrips” are applied to the closed incisions and you can go home the same day. Laser Blepharoplasty Laser blepharoplasty involves doing the same procedure as above but with a laser rather than a knife. The CO2 Laser coagulates blood as it cuts so you get less bruising and swelling. This can allow easier precision and a speedier recovery. You can discuss this option with Dr Sawhney during your consultation at Sculpted Clinic. Before and after images Magnifying Glass Patient 1 Magnifying Glass Patient 2 Magnifying Glass Patient 3 Is it covered by my medical insurance? Some patients may be eligible for a medicare rebate on the upper eyelid surgery if they meet the criteria. If you are privately insured and you qualify your health fund may pay a significant part of the cost of your surgery. This can be discussed in the consultation with Dr Sawhney before getting your quote from our helpful staff at Sculpted Clinic. There is no medicare rebate for lower eyelid surgery. How long is the recovery from a blepharoplasty? You will have some bruising and swelling after your eyelid surgery. Most of this will dissipate by 1-2 weeks. Using ice packs at home can help with your recovery. At 1 week you will come to have your dressings and sutures removed. By 4 weeks the swelling has usually resolved and you can see most of the final result. Do I need a brow lift? In a significant proportion of patients whose eyelids have aged, the brows have descended to a lower level too. in a small proportion it is mainly the eyebrow that has descended into the upper eyelid such that upper eyelid surgery or Blepharoplasty alone would not have the desired effect. Sometimes a Brow Lift alone would give a more effective rejuvenation. The trap for less experienced surgeons is the patient that has Compensatory Brow Elevation. This is when a patient has heavy eyelids from descent or brow descent that they compensate for by raising their eyebrows on eye opening. When they close their eyes the brows drop again. The importance of assessing for this is that if upper eyelid blepharoplasty alone is performed this may remove their need to raise their eyebrow on eye opening and over a couple of months they will stop doing so. At that point they will feel like their brows have dropped and potentially as well as understandably think you have cut out too much skin and pulled their eyebrows down. The ideal situation is to perform combined upper eyelid Blepharoplasty and Brow Lift surgery. At your consult, Dr Sawhney will assess for this and discuss it with you if he feels it to be an issue in you. Are there any risks when undergoing a blepharoplasty? As with any surgery, there are potential risks and complications with this procedure: Infection Bleeding Scarring, including aggressive forms of scar formation requiring treatment Eyelid closure problems Drooping eyelid or ptosis – usually temporary Tearing called epiphora Injury to the cornea (surface of the eye) Allergic reactions to sutures, dressings or antiseptic solutions Dr Sawhney will explain these in detail during your consultation at Sculpted Clinic. Don’t forget to share this via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
