Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty may be both a functional and cosmetic surgical procedure. A blepharoplasty reshapes the upper or lower eyelid by the removing or repositioning excess tissue, and by reinforcing the surrounding tendons and muscles. When a large amount of upper eyelid skin is present, the skin can hang over the eyelashes and cause a loss of vision. For this, upper eyelid blepharoplasty is performed to improve peripheral vision. Patients with a less excess skin may have a similar procedure performed for cosmetic reasons. Lower eyelid blepharoplasty is almost always done to improve sagging lower eyelids and reduce the wrinkles in the skin.

What is Blepharoplasty

In a Blepharoplasty an external incision is made along the natural skin lines of the eyelids, like the creases of the lids and below the lashes of the lower lids, or the inside surface of the eyelid. Swelling and bruising take one to two weeks to resolve but at least several months are needed until the final result is stable. Varying on the scale of the procedure, this operation takes one to three hours to finish.

The anatomy of the eyelids, the patients' skin quality, the patients' age, and the adjacent bony and soft tissue all influence the cosmetic and functional outcomes after a blepharoplasty.