eye lift surgery

who · ‎03-09-2010

has any one had eye lift surgery and how was it for you and the healing or what ever you can tell me. I am not having it done for cosmetic reasons .

cali-girl · ‎06-21-2010

I had my eyelid lift surgery 3 weeks ago, for medical reasons. The eyelids' sagging was affecting my vision. I had only upper eyelids done. Surgery was not really painful--done with a local, and some conscious sedation. An eye surgeon, not a plastic surgeon, did the operation in a surgery center.

My aesthetician had told me she had the operation done, and she was back at work the next day. Cannot imagine that would be possible! My bruising went away quickly, but still... The instructions said to rest--no bending , stooping, lifting, No sports, for a few weeks.

I think my eyes look wider and lifted, but my lower lids still are sensitive and somewhat swollen. No eye makeup/including mascara as the incision areas are still healing. So the jury is still out on the final look.

One of the side effects is dry eyes, which I already had. Post-surgery my eyes are easily strained with reading and TV watching (I've learned to listen to podcasts in order to help that). At times, my eyeballs hurt.Vision is sometimes cloudy, so I did not drive for more than a week afterwards (this was not mentioned to me by dr)

I am now using warm compresses and LOTS of eye drops to help those issues.

I iced the lids a lot immediately after the surgery, and I think that helped with swelling and bruising. Soon (a month post-surgery) I will massage the eyelids daily with Vit E for a month as per dr directions.

A friend had both upper and lower eyelids done, and felt in the end, it wasn't worth it. Not sure why--I'll have to ask her.

Hope this response helps!

Tadaki · ‎03-10-2010

I've having it done during my summer vacation. If you google the actual surgery you will be having, then click on the video tab, you can see the surgery performed, hear recovery instructions, and see people who documented their day to day recovery. Obviously, you should follow your own doctor's instructions, but I thought this UK doctor sounded very picky and precise and I liked that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuh8-w-9ERU

In addition to the icing and sitting/laying at a 45 degree angle, watching tv or reading a computer screen add to the dryness of your eyes during recovery. So I have audiobooks I will be listening to for the first few days. One video said no more than 15 minutes per hour of computer or tv use. Unfortunately, I can't find that link. Wish I had bookmarked it.

ETA: I'm sure you know some of the Google results will be poor.

wagirl · ‎03-09-2010

My BBF had the exact surgery that cali-girl had a year ago and did very well afterwards and has improved her whole life from it. Her lids were drooping so much, it impeded her vision. She is just sorry she didn't do it sooner. She went to a eye surgeon too. Good luck!!

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

@who

I was fortunate in that I worked in a hospital, sat on the IRB and professionally knew the plastic surgeon who was to do my surgery. (He did on-going research in his specialty, so met him through his research proposals to the IRB.) Made an appointment and found he was going to provide me with a 50% professional discount, because I had been of great assistance to him in his research. OK, not arguing there. And, I was moving out-of-state 2 months after the surgery anyway.

So, originally I went to him for lowers only, as I swear I was born with bags under my eyes. He pointed out the state of my uppers and suggested I consider where they'd be in 5-10 years. We had a comprehensive discussion about this and I'm so glad we did uppers and lowers at the same time; or, rather that I chose to have them done, though it was a challenge.

Had to take a week off work. Had to keep my eyes closed and covered for, I think, 48 hours. Yes, lots of eye drops. Do remember to keep your fingers away from the skin around your eyes, as infection can easily set in. When I went back to work, wore sunglasses for weeks, as the surgical sites were, well, not something I wanted everyone in the hospital to see. Then about 10 days into recovery, my eyes started to itch like crazy and the whites of my eyes turned a light pink. Bingo! Infection. So, had one antibiotic eyedrop and a prednisone eye drop to quell the itching. Once we got that going, things became much better.

Healing does not occur over night. Be patient. Results vary per patient.

Good Luck!

who · ‎03-09-2010

Thank you all so very much. I am only having the top lids done and yes I am very nervous about it. Thank you all again.

Tyak · ‎01-26-2013

My dh had one eye lifted because it was affecting his vision. He doesn't notice any difference and a neighbor had the same thing done on both eyes and she doesn't think it was worth it either.

Tadaki · ‎03-10-2010

@who wrote:
Thank you all so very much. I am only having the top lids done and yes I am very nervous about it. Thank you all again.

I found the 14 minute video that talks about not reading, watching tv, or looking at the computer screen for the first days. He covers that in the first 5 minutes. I'm just "all in" on reducing swelling, bruising, and dryness as soon as possible. He says he doesn't prescribe an antibiotic ointment, but my doctor does, and definitely I'm following instructions from my doctor. But I think it doesn't hurt to avoid screen and reading time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1HeYfgoJJ4

1Professor · ‎12-07-2014

@cali-girl: Your detailed response was so useful, full of specific content and the sort of thing one should know well before the procedure.

mollymaguire · ‎06-11-2018

I had the surgery done on both eyes (top only) because the drooping was copromising my vision. It was relatively painless, and the recovery was uneventful. There was a little swelling and very light bruising, but don't be afraid to have it done. Use common sense and go easy on youur eyes for a few days, but you can still go about your normal tasks as long as you tke it slow and easy. By the wy, because it was considered "necessary", Medicare paid for the whole thing. When I inquired about the bottoms, he kind of laughed and said that falls into the cosmetic category, which most insurances won't cover. Good luck, and ask lots of questions so you're more relaxed about the whole thing.