Eyelid Surgery

[calico1597]

I'm scheduled to have Blepharoplasty (upper eyelid surgery) next month, my surgeon said it will be covered by Medicare. She will submit for preapproval first. I'm getting both eyes done in the same procedure. Doc said I should sleep two nights semi upright in a recliner, ice packs thru out the day and to expect bruising for 7-10 days.

Anyone else have this done and have advise? I have several relatives who had this done, doc said it can heredity. I feel comfortable with the doctor I've chosen. She is with a well known eye center in our area.

[Bamaman]

Droopy eyelids are for sure inherited. And so few people have anything done about them. Eyesight with droopy eyelids is limited, especially when looking up and to the sides. And your eyes will feel so much better after the healing--not so gritty.

I don't remember having to sleep sitting up, however ice bags are useful for a couple of days. All in all, it was no big deal.

[capjak]

My DW had an upper eyelid surgery as well along with lateral brow lift.
She recommends going to an Ocular Plastic Surgeon that does a lot of them.

She had to sleep upright in a recliner as well and iced every like 20 minutes.

She had bruising for 2 and 1/2 weeks and was not happy with how long the bruising lasted. She went out with big sunglasses and special make up to cover the bruising after a week or so.

Good Luck. She did not have a lot of pain and she had a local so she was awake the entire time.

[97guns]

My wife just had her upper and lower done 2 days ago, she looks like I’ve slapped her around, upper cheekbone area for s swollen pretty bad and black/blue, she gets the stitches out next week , $1800 here in Thailand

[97guns]

She’s going for liposuction at the same time next week for $900 then her modifications will be done, should be a fast ride!

[Scuba]

If it’s really obstructing your vision or causing other medical issues, then it obviously needs to be done. My friend had it done for cosmetic reasons and went with a surgeon her dermatologist recommended. Now she has a small permanent lump on the outside edge of the skin surrounding her eye. If I were her, I’d be very bummed about this. So far I haven’t had any cosmetic surgery. If I ever do, I’m going to the best doc regardless of cost.

[braumeister]

My mother had both eyelids done in her 80s as a result of skin cancer.

She was lucky to have a surgeon who specialized in that (he only does eyelids) and it went very well. There was no need for her to sit up afterward at all.

Yes, there was bruising but that's a normal outcome with many types of surgery. Not such a big deal since it fades.

[MissMolly]

I had it done about 3 years ago. All my siblings and I have droopy eyelids (there are 7 of us). My vision was severely limited and the droop was so bad I could feel the skin on my eyeballs. I used ice packs for a couple of days but was not required to sleep sitting upright. There was no pain to speak of. The outcome has been great and it's so nice for the first time in as long as I can remember to have eyelids. Since then, one brother has had it done and another sister is getting ready to do it. I say go for it. It not only improved my vision but also improved my looks.

[Red Badger]

DW had hers done while in Korea last year (fraction of US cost). Her's were bothersome and detrimental to her self image. This affliction is very prevalent amongst those of Asian ethnicity.

She's a happy camper with her new(er) peepers!

[Amethyst]

Our eye Dr. recommended it for Mr. A., as his eyelid droop is beginning to obstruct light getting into his eyes. My understanding is that with more light getting in, he not only would see better, but his eyes would be even bluer than they are now. So there's another reason to do it :-) He's still thinking about it. Nervous about surgery, and who can blame him.

[H2ODude]

Had mine done because it was obstructing peripheral, especially in head down biking. About two years ago. Damn if they're not starting to droop again! Dr. said he thought the lids would be enough but possibly would need a brow lift! They say owners take the characteristics of their dogs; we're on our 7th Basset Hound. Must be it.

[Katsmeow]

I have had a Blepharoplasty. One thing you need to check though is whether you need that only that or whether you need ptosis repair. Blepharoplasty removes tissue usually skin, muscle, and fat. The eyelids though stay where they were. If your problem is loose skin that hangs over your eye impeding vision then the blepharoplasty will help with that.

On the other hand, some people have an actual drooping eyelid. The eyelid itself has sagged down so that it can impede vision due to the sinking of the eyelid. This calls for a ptosis repair.

I had a cosmetic blepharoplasty because I had lots of loose skin on my upper eyelid. I also had a tendency to hooded eyelids. I do have a slight ptosis on one eye (not enough to impede visions -- basically no one but me and a surgeon would notice it). My plastic surgeon would have referred me to an oculoplastic surgeon if I needed ptosis repair. However, mine is not severe enough to need it.

So -- some people can get Medicare to cover a blepharoplasty if the skin droops down enough to impede visions. And, they may not need a ptosis repair at all.

Some people need only a ptosis repair and a blepharoplasty won't help them. Some people need both. The point is that if a ptosis repair is needed a blepharoplasty alone won't be enough.

Here is a webpage that explains the difference and shows photos of what a ptosis of the eyelid looks like.

The difference between ptosis repair and blepharoplasty | Joseph Walrath, MD

Now as for blepharoplasty. I did have it. The recovery was easy. I had it during a facelift so I had other things I was recovering from. For the first few days after surgery I had a lot of swelling around my eyes and everything was very blurry. There was not a huge amount of pain. There was a lot of bruising. I was very happy with the results (this was a couple of years ago). I did end up having a slight revision several months after surgery. On one eye I still had loose skin. It had not all been able to be removed in one procedure (in my case I was also having cholesterol deposits on my eye removed and the surgeon had to be cautious on removing too much eyelid skin in one procedure as it could have cause my eye to pull down -- most people wouldn't have that issue as they aren't having other things done to the eyelid area).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba If it’s really obstructing your vision or causing other medical issues, then it obviously needs to be done. My friend had it done for cosmetic reasons and went with a surgeon her dermatologist recommended. Now she has a small permanent lump on the outside edge of the skin surrounding her eye. If I were her, I’d be very bummed about this.

She might need a revision. Sometimes a suture doesn't dissolve and it can form a lump and needs to be manually removed (I had that issue). In the meantime it is like a tiny lump. The surgery removed it and it was all fine. But, I agree with the larger point. Research, research, and research the surgeon. Then, research some more.