Blepharoplasty, also called eyelid reduction or eye bag reduction, involves cosmetic surgery to remove excess skin or fat from the eyelids.
Both procedures address the excess skin sagging around the top or bottom of the eye rather than dealing with dark circles under the eyes, something that is usually caused by a circulatory problem. It also doesn’t deal with the lines around the corner of the eye called crow’s feet.
Upper and lower eyelid rejuvenation is popular with men and women, and it’s usually the first sign of ageing on the face. But in some cases eyebags or excess skin above the eye can be a hereditary problem.
An eyelid lift addresses the excess or hooded skin above your eye. When done carefully and in a conservative way, it makes the eyes look slightly wider open as well as giving you a smoother lid and less heaviness around the eye.
With age, the brow shifts downwards and the eyebrows end up below the usual bony ridge of the eye socket. This can exaggerate the hood effect. If hooding is caused by drooping of the brow, in some instances we might recommend an endoscopic brow lift instead.
Whereas eyelid reduction corrects excess skin around the top of the eye, eye bag reduction addresses the excess skin underneath your eyes, along with the fat deposits that create the puffiness.
Eyelid correction is usually performed under local anaesthetic. You can leave the clinic the same day.
We make an incision line in the crease of the eye for the upper eyelids, where it doesn’t show. If you need to have skin removed from your lower lids, we make a small incision close to the lower eyelashes, extending it out to the natural crease at the corner of your eye so it’s unnoticeable.
The eye area is very sensitive, so you will get some bruising and swelling immediately after the operation. To soothe it, take arnica and apply cold packs. We advise you to wear protective glasses or sunglasses for 1-2 weeks to keep the area clean and free from infection.
In rare circumstances you may experience a little bleeding. That’s why we closely monitor you after the procedure, so we can deal with this if it happens to you. You might also experience some slight blurred vision, but this should correct itself over time.
We recommend anything from one to three weeks in recovery, depending on whether we have operated on your upper lids, lower lids, or both. Upper lid treatment means you should usually be able to return to work after 5-7 days., and after a week you’ll be able to apply a concealer.
