Swelling after Asian eyelid surgery can make a lot people worry about their results.

I’ll explain how I help my patients for whom I perform double eyelid surgery

I’m Dr Amiya Prasad.

I’m a Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeon and Fellowship Trained Oculoplastic Surgeon.

I’ve been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.

Asian Eyelid Surgery often referred to as double eyelid surgery is a procedure I perform routinely in my practice.

The term “Double eyelid surgery” can be used to describe both the non incisional technique and the incisional techniques.

Before discussing these concerns, it’s important to understand why the procedure is performed, what are the principle objectives of the procedure, how the procedure is performed and what the healing process is like before you have a more stable appearance.

The goal of this procedure is to create a crease or double eyelid fold where one doesn’t exist or when a crease is partially present and the desire is to have a deeper and more well defined crease.

Asians who have a natural eyelid crease or double eyelid have a connection between a muscle called the Levator muscle and the skin.

The levator muscle is the muscle responsible for lifting your eyelids.

The procedure options include one called a non incisional technique and the other being an incisional technique.

The main goal is to create a connection between the skin and a muscle called the levator muscle.

The decision to choose the non incisional or the incisional method in my practice is based on the presence or absence of excess skin or fat.

When I perform the non incisional method, I make strategically placed entry points in the skin and place sutures to engage the levator muscle and create a connection which results in a crease.

When I perform incisional surgery, I close the skin with sutures and use different ways to attach the skin to the levator muscle for the same purpose of creating a crease.

Swelling between the crease and the eyelashes is something that concerns a lot of patients.

In addition the effect of swelling often makes the crease look higher than desired and can make amyn people feel anxious.

Swelling can also be different between the two eyes which can also make someone concerned about looking uneven or asymmetric.

During the consultation, I educate my patients about the healing process which includes swelling and the timing for return to work, social engagements and when to expect a stable appearance.

One area of significant concern, especially in the first few weeks after surgery is the perception that the height of the eyelid crease is too high.

I often get asked by patients who’ve had surgery elsewhere about how soon a revision surgery can be performed because they believe, the surgeon had made the crease incision too high.

It’s important to understand that swelling between the eyelash and crease is temporary and that it can make the eyelid crease look too high.

Typically my patients go back to work in about 1 week. For incisional surgery, this is when sutures are removed.

As far as social events or events where your appearance is important, allow for at least 2 weeks or more.

It’s important to understand that swelling can be present and continue to decrease over several months to up to 1 year after surgery.

Generally, I expect appearance to by close to the final appearance around 6 months. If a patient has a history of allergies, sinus problems, smoking or other circulation issues, swelling can persist longer than is typical.

If there isn’t significant swelling after 6 months, revision surgery, if needed may be considered.

In the first 2 days after the surgery, cold compresses help decrease the initial swelling after surgery.

After the first 2 days, the clearing of swelling depends on the amount of swelling and circulation.

I encourage my patients to be up and about walking, talking and smiling and if they’re planning to be more sedentary, warm compresses can help.

Swelling and asymmetry after Asian Eyelid Surgery can be concerning.

In my practice, I help my patients through this process by seeing them at closely spaced regular intervals so I can make observations and continue to educate them about the stage of healing they’re in.

I hope you found this information helpful…thank you for your question