It’s natural for your skin to lose elasticity as you get older. That, of course, can lead to lines and wrinkles on your face. The areas around your eyes can lose elasticity also. Eyelids can droop, and permanent bags can form under your eyes. While you may be most concerned with the aesthetic effects, changes around your eyes can sometimes cause vision issues if the drooping is severe enough to block your line of sight.
Eyelid surgery — called a blepharoplasty — is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries due to the improvements it can provide to your eyesight and the way you look. Nicholas R. Nikolov, M.D., and his team at The Nikolov Center for Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, California, can perform a simple surgery to remove the bags under your eyes and make you look years younger.
What A Blepharoplasty Helps With
Skin laxity isn’t the only cause of drooping eyelids. The muscles that support your eyelids can lose strength with age as well. Between these two factors, the tissue around your eyes can shift downward. This can make you look older and tired and possibly interfere with your vision depending on where your eyelids hang down. A blepharoplasty can repair your eyelids, which can make you look younger and help you see better.
What A Blepharoplasty Involves
You can have surgery on your upper eyelid, lower eyelid, or both. When the upper eyelid is done, an incision is made along one of the natural folds of your eyelid, so any surgical scars should be well-concealed. Depending on the extent of drooping, you may have excess skin, muscle, or fat removed.
On the bottom eyelid, the incision can be made in a natural crease below the lashes or on the inside of the eyelid. Again, excess fat, muscle, or skin may be removed as necessary. A blepharoplasty is easy to combine with other procedures, such as a facelift, browlift, or skin resurfacing.
If your upper eyelid droops in the middle close to your pupil, you may get an add-on procedure that will help support your eyebrow muscle to prevent it from interfering with your eyesight.
What To Expect Before And After A Blepharoplasty
A blepharoplasty is typically an outpatient procedure that is performed with local anesthetic and sedation. Before your procedure, Dr. Nikolov and his team will go over any medications you’re taking and discuss pre-surgery instructions.
After your surgery, you’ll remain under observation for a short period of time to ensure there are no complications. Then you’ll go home to recover. You’ll need a ride home since you’ll be sedated and bandaged. Furthermore, your vision may be blurred from the effects of a lubricant used during the procedure.
You may experience swelling and bruising around your eyes. Also, your eyelids may feel numb, and you may be sensitive to light. Ice packs can help with swelling and discomfort, and you’ll be provided with an aftercare regimen.
You’ll have a follow-up appointment a few days after your procedure to remove stitches if necessary and to evaluate your progress. It will take about two weeks for swelling to fully subside and bruising to heal.
To see if a blepharoplasty can help you, book an appointment online or over the phone with The Nikolov Center for Plastic Surgery today.
