You look in the mirror and notice dark circles around your eyes. You look tired, even though you got a full night’s sleep. You have difficulty seeing out of the corners of your eyes. If this is happening to you, the skin around your eyes may have started to sag or the fat has started to protrude. Fortunately, a facial plastic procedure called a blepharoplasty can fix these issues.What happens to the skin around your eyes? As you age, the skin around your eyes becomes lax and stretches. The fat, which normally sits around the eyeball, herniates through weaknesses in the fine membranes, resulting in visible lumps or bulges. These changes tend to narrow your eyes While these changes are inherited in some cases, for most people they start to develop in their early thirties. Not only can this make your eyes look smaller and tired, in some cases it can impair your peripheral vision. Peripheral vision is the ability to see things to the sides of us when we are looking straight ahead. It is important because it gives us awareness of the world around us, not just what’s right in front of us. This allows us to react when something happens to the side of us, such as when a car pulls out suddenly or someone runs quickly up next to us.What is a blepharoplasty? Blepharoplasty is designed to remove excess eyelid skin and protruding fat in order to accentuate the beauty of your eyes. The upper lid incisions are hidden in the natural creases of your eyelid. If you also get lower eyelid surgery, those incisions will either be on the inner side of the eyelid, or in a skin crease just below the eyelashes. With enough healing time, those incisions are generally imperceptible. Blepharoplasty is done on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia. The operation usually takes 1-2 ½ hours.Sometimes, if your eyebrow is also drooping, your doctor may recommend you also get an eyebrow lift in order to ensure you are pleased aesthetically. What should I do after a blepharoplasty?After surgery your doctor will give you a list of instructions for home care. Bandages will not be placed around your eyes. Swelling and discoloration can be treated with cold compresses, and will gradually disappear over the next two weeks. You should not exert yourself for two weeks following surgery. This includes exercise that results in an elevated heart rate or blood pressure. Most people can return to work after one to two weeks. Sutures will be removed one week after surgery. It’s time to look awake and make sure you have a clear field of vision. It’s time to consider a blepharoplasty. This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your physician. To make an appointment to see if a blepharoplasty is right for you, call 704-295-3000.
