What is healing like after eyelid ptosis surgery? Eyelid ptosis is a condition
where the upper eyelid is in a lower position than it should be
ptosis when not associated with the neurologic condition is usually caused
by a dysfunction of a muscle called the levator muscle the word levator is like
the word elevator without the letter e in the beginning there are two types of
eyelid ptosis in this category the first is congenital ptosis which is ptosis
you’re born with the other is acquired ptosis which is ptosis that occurs after
you’re born in our practice we see patients with ptosis every day and
during the evaluation I’m always asked about the healing process the healing
process is very important for the outcome as well as the ability for the
patient to go back to work or be seen during social events I’ll discuss how I
evaluate my patients and provide guidance about the healing process with
different types of ptosis surgery which I perform

I’m Dr. Amiya Prasad I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and
Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon I’ve been in
practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years
eyelid ptosis surgery is a specialty procedure which is not typically
performed by general plastic or cosmetic surgeons but rather mostly by
oculoplastic or oculofacial plastic surgeons in fact the presence of ptosis
is often missed when cosmetic upper eyelid surgery is routinely performed
for excess skin and fat in these situations the patients are distressed
because they don’t look better after undergoing surgery since their ptosis
was not diagnosed or addressed the strategy for ptosis surgery is
dependent on the diagnosis of the type of ptosis the severity of the ptosis and
the relative strength or function of the levator muscle to optimize both recovery
and to maximize accuracy I usually perform ptosis surgery with local
anesthesia and LITE IV sedation using local anesthesia instead of general
anesthesia makes recovery from surgery much faster patients who have put under
general anesthesia often feel nausea and dizziness after surgery in addition with
general anesthesia you’re recovering from the effects of
general anesthesia as well as from the surgery itself with local anesthesia and
LITE IV sedation our patients recover from anesthesia immediately and they
feel fine the aftercare process is important for optimizing recovery after
surgery unless otherwise instructed I have patients apply cold compresses to
minimize swelling for the first 48 hours after surgery antibiotic ointment is
applied to the sutures where appropriate a common form of ptosis we treat is
acquired ptosis related to age the use of contact lenses eye rubbing and
allergies generally speaking this type of ptosis is mild with good levator
muscle function in this situation I often perform ptosis surgery by
shortening a muscle from the underside of the upper eyelid if there isn’t extra
skin to remove in the front of the eyelid there’s no visible sign of you
having undergone surgery the recovery from this type of ptosis surgery is
generally the quickest for example I performed this procedure for a doctor
who went back to work in two days I do advise my patients to take a few days
off to allow for the healing process and dissolving of internal sutures I often
use this technique for people who have had cosmetic eyelid surgery done
elsewhere learn after examination that they also
happen to have ptosis by performing the surgery from the inside of the eyelid
these patients feel better about having the surgery performed without having any
new incisions and sutures on the outside ptosis surgery for situations where the
eyelid level is blocking the pupil or center of the eye with good levator
muscle function is often approached by performing surgery directly on the
levator muscle at the same time I often perform cosmetic blepharoplasty to
address excess skin and fat to get the best cosmetic result as well
this approach is often used for age-related acquired ptosis as well as
in cases of congenital ptosis the recovery is comparable to upper eyelid
blepharoplasty where sutures are removed in about one week
and some swelling is present and it diminishes over the next few weeks two
months in some situations such as an asian eyelid surgery and congenital
ptosis the swelling can remain for longer periods and even lasts longer
than six months a less common situation is when the levator muscle has poor to
no function with the eyelid level blocking the pupil in these situations I
perform a procedure called if frontalis sling this is a surgery where a
connection is made between the eyelid and the muscle which lifts the eyebrows
called the frontalis muscle I place a materials such as silicone gore-tex or a
PTFE as well as the patient’s own or cadaver sourced tissue from the leg
called fascia lata generally recovery is about one week with some degree of
swelling which clears over the next few weeks ptosis surgery occasionally
requires revision for situations where the eyelid level may be too low or too
high when enhancement is appropriate I usually wait about three to six months
after the initial surgery to allow for the clear
of swelling the longevity of the benefits of surgery depends on the type
of surgery performed as well as the age and other factors which are individually
relevant if you’re considering ptosis surgery or you’re concerned about one or
both of your upper eyelids being lower than you feel they should be a proper
diagnosis is the first step this first step can involve seeing a neurologist
ophthalmologist or an oculoplastic surgery for the types of ptosis
discussed the healing process and functional recovery can range from days
to weeks with some exceptions I hope you found this information helpful thank you
for your question