What is healing like after hooded eyelid surgery?

Upper eyelid surgery to improve eyelid hooding. To relieve sagging and redundant eyelid skin due to genetics or aging is commonly performed to help eyes appear more open and vibrant. Often both skin and underlying fat pockets are reduced to achieve an optimal result.

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.

I specialize in cosmetic procedures for the upper and lower eyelids. Including surgery for eyelid hooding, under eye bags, Asian double eyelid surgery. And I also perform specialized eyelid surgeries such as ptosis correction, restoration after thyroid eye disease. And revision procedures for eyelid surgeries originally performed by other doctors which ended up with complications.

In my mind the purpose of surgery for hooded eyes is to reveal the true shape of the eyes. Which is being hidden by the hooded skin. The hooding actually ends up defining the perception of the eye shape and can communicate unintentionally sadness, fatigue, and even anger or disapproval.

Understanding this goal of revealing the true shape of the eyes. Without making the eyes look too open is critical to performing an ideal procedure.

The amount of skin to be addressed and the amount of soft tissue. And the underlying fat pockets to be contoured is all done based on an artistic plan. The execution of this plan requires technical expertise with efficient perform of the upper eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty. I perform upper eyelid blepharoplasty in almost all my surgeries using local anesthesia with light sedation thereby avoiding general anesthesia.

This approach is comfortable for the patient and allows for faster recovery and minimal downtime. My patients return home right after surgery and typically go back to work in one week. As far as healing after surgery is concerned, the first 48 hours is about managing some swelling. I advise my patients to use cold compresses for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for the first two days.

I also prescribed antibiotic ointment for the sutures. The sutures are removed from the upper eyelids after about one week. Healing continues for about a year. However, generally speaking my patients look good for social events within one to two weeks after surgery.

Optimal healing is supported by a healthy lifestyle smoking, lack of sleep and poor diet can result in sub-optimal recovery. By the six-month point after surgery swelling has resolved. Enough for us to conclude that the appearance is close to the final result. However, full surgical healing can take about a year.

Recovery from upper eyelid surgery can be a lot shorter than many people assume. Using local anesthesia and light sedation combined with meticulous surgical technique and proper aftercare. Patients are back to work quickly and don’t have to wait long to enjoy their refreshed looking eyes. I hope you found this information helpful.

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