The eyes, often touted as the door to one’s soul, can say a lot about a person’s lifestyle, health, and most importantly, age. And the eyes are one of the most noticeable parts of a person’s face, simply because eye contact happens all the time. A person’s eyes changes as they get older, because the skin around it loses its elasticity as they age.

This will cause excess skin to collect in the lower and upper eyelids, resulting in not just an aged look, but can also hinder and obstruct vision. This is why more and more people are going for eyelid surgery to shave off years off their face and have a more youthful look.

Eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty as it is known, also has practical applications other than cosmetically making a person look younger. It can aid in improving a person’s vision, and prevent further vision problems. This is because when loose skin droops over the upper eyelid, it can impede the patient’s field of vision. But how does cosmetic eyelid surgery actually work?

Eyelid Surgery – The Procedure

Eyelid plastic surgery begins with the doctor administering anesthesia around the eyes and sedating the patient. The surgeon then makes incisions that follow the natural lines of the eyelids, separating the skin and removing excess fat, muscle, and skin from the target areas. Once the operation is complete, the incisions are sutured, remaining for three days to a week, depending on the patient’s ability to recover and the amount of work done.

If all four eyelids are done (two upper eyelids and two lower eyelids), the procedure will last roughly around two hours, with the upper eyelids done first and the lower ones done after.

There are several options when doing surgery on the lower eyelids. One, called the transconjunctival method, requires the surgeon to make an incision inside the eyelid. The fat can then be removed to eliminate excessive “eyebags”. The positive about this method is that no incision scars will be visible after surgery.

The other, called transcutaneous method, will require the surgeon to place an incision along the margin where the eyelashes are. Excess skin, fat, and muscle can then be removed through the incision. It has the possibility of leaving a scar, but since it is along the eyelash margin, it will not be too obvious, and it can fade soon after the surgery.

Recovery

After eyelid surgery, swelling and bruising will occur, and the possibility of infection is ever present. It is recommended that the patient diligently take the prescribed medication by the cosmetic surgeon in order to facilitate proper healing and recovery. If the patient follows the surgeon’s instructions well, within a week or two, the eyelids will recover properly and will look better.