Blepharoplasty – Eyelid Surgery

Are you noticing that your eyes look tired or hollow and you long for a vibrant, refreshed appearance? Eyelid surgery, known as blepharoplasty or eyelid lift, might be the answer. This plastic surgery procedure can dramatically improve puffy eyes, wrinkles, or sagging skin in both the upper and lower eyelids. These common problems can make you look much older than you are and in some cases, even disrupt your vision. After the procedure, you’ll be left with an awake, rested, and alert appearance but still look like yourself.

Patients throughout the Capital District areas of Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga trust New York Plastic Surgeon Dr. Lucie Capek to perform their eyelid surgery. Many of our patients travel from New York City, Vermont, Massachusetts, and beyond to receive her skilled and compassionate care.

*Procedure performed by Dr. Capek View More Patient Photos >>

Am I a Good Candidate?

Many people are unaware that a relatively simple procedure can improve their facial appearance and, in some cases, their vision. You may be a good candidate for eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty if you notice the following issues:

Upper eyelids:

• Heavy or loose skin, sometimes sitting on the eyelashes
• Seeing your eyelid skin through your eyelashes
• Feeling like your eyelids are heavy, especially at the end of the day
• Difficulty seeing objects or people approaching you from the side
• Difficulty applying make-up because of extra skin in your upper lids
• Looking tired all the time even when you feel rested

Lower eyelids:

• Bags under the eyes
• Loose, crepy skin
• Drooping, sad-looking eyes
• Hollows and dark circles under the eyes

Before Your Procedure

Knowing what to expect and what to do throughout the procedure process is important to ensure the best possible outcome. During your consultation, Dr. Capek will discuss your goals and she will determine the best treatment course to achieve your desired results. She will talk to you in-depth about how you can prepare for the procedure, what to expect, and review the alternatives, risks, and benefits of the surgery.

As always, you want to be in optimum health when considering elective surgery. Follow a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise, don’t smoke since this decreases your body’s ability to heal normally, and follow your primary care physician’s advice when treating chronic conditions like high blood pressure.

Your Procedure

Eyelid surgery is typically performed under local anesthesia and sedation. Dr. Capek performs a customized series of steps during your surgery to address the issues unique to your eyelid area.  These may include excess skin in the upper or lower eyelids, drooping eyelids due to muscle weakness or aging, bags due to prominent fat pads, and hollowing in the tear trough or orbital rim area. The goal is to rejuvenate and smooth out your eyelid area without making you look like a different person.

Dr. Capek performs eyelid surgeries in either our office operating room or at an outpatient surgery center, depending on the exact nature of the procedure. You will have either oral or IV sedation, as well as local anesthesia.

Upper Eyelids

For upper eyelid surgery, Dr. Capek makes an incision in the natural crease of your eyelid. The excess skin is removed and the incision is sutured. Variations may include shortening or tightening of the levator muscle to treat drooping called ptosis, creating an eyelid crease if you don’t have one and desire this change (some Asian eyelids), and occasionally some fat removal. Removal of excess fat is now rarely done in upper lids because it can cause a hollow and aged appearance.

Lower Eyelids

If there is excess skin in your lower eyelids, Dr. Capek makes an incision below the lashline, removes excess skin, often tightens the orbicular muscle, and then sutures the incision. If bulging fat pads are present these are contoured and reduced, sometimes through an invisible incision behind the lower eyelid. In many patients, the lower eyelid area also shows hollowing in the tear trough or orbital rim. This makes your eyes look tired and can increase the appearance of dark circles. Dr. Capek routinely performs micro-fat grafting to this ‘lid-cheek’ junction as part of a lower lid blepharoplasty. She harvests fat from your thighs or abdomen and meticulously injects these living cells into the lower lids to fill out hollowing.

Lower Blepharoplasty

Upper Blepharoplasty

 

After Your Procedure

After your surgery is complete, your eyelids will be swollen and bruised. Your vision may be blurry, but minimal pain is associated with eyelid surgery recovery. Dr. Capek and her nurses will give you detailed instructions on how to care for yourself after surgery. For the first few days, you should get plenty of rest with your head elevated, and you may need cold compresses for your eyes to reduce swelling and bruising. After about a week, your stitches will be removed and swelling will reduce. You can wear camouflage makeup in a few days and eye makeup after 2 weeks. You can return to non-strenuous work within a week and resume all activities within about a month.

What Are the Risks?

Although complications from eyelid surgeries are rare, every surgical procedure carries some risk. The most common risks or sequelae include temporarily blurred vision, dry eyes, and swelling. Uncommon risks include bleeding, infection, pain, poor-quality scars, difficulty closing your eyes, ectropion, and long-term vision loss. Dr. Capek will discuss the full list of risks and prevention strategies during your initial consultation.

It may take up to a year for your scars to fade, but you can enjoy your bright-eyed results in just a few weeks. You’ll notice a more vibrant and refreshed look, with people complimenting you on your beauty sleep. The key to a successful eyelid surgery and an outstanding result is an open and honest conversation about your eyelid surgery process.  Give us a call today to set up a one-on-one personalized eyelid surgery consultation with Dr. Capek.  Our office is just 13 miles from Albany and 9 miles from Schenectady, New York.  For more information, visit our blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Botox lift droopy eyelids? In some cases, Botox can be used to resolve drooping in the eyelids. Other patients will require a blepharoplasty. Can droopy eyelids cause blurred vision? Droopy eyelids may cause blurred or obstructed vision. Does eyelid surgery leave scars? Eyelid surgery results in some scarring, but this should be inconspicuous. Incisions are made along the natural fold of the eyelid in an upper blepharoplasty or along the waterline of the lower eyelid in a lower blepharoplasty. How do you reduce bruising after eyelid surgery? Gentle application of a cold compress and keeping the head elevated will help reduce bruising following a blepharoplasty. How long after blepharoplasty do you see results? Most patients begin to see blepharoplasty results about six weeks after their surgery.