Upper & Lower Eyelid Surgery

The accumulation of skin and fat around the upper and lower eyelids occurs naturally as you age, but unfortunately this gradual change serves no function and can actually irritate the eyes and impede your vision. If the upper eyelid is affected, the eyes appear sunken and tired and the eyelid itself looks exaggerated and inflated. When the fat and skin collect around the lower eyelid, crow's feet and bags are evident. If you can relate to any or all of this, it may be time to see Dr. Ellis about an eyelid surgery, also known as an eyelid lift.

A cosmetic eyelid surgery may be performed on the upper eyelid, lower eyelid, or both. A precision laser removes skin, fat, and muscle from under the upper eyelid to conceal potential scarring. Eyelid surgery performed on the lower lid is slightly different. The sagging skin is removed or treated with a laser to tighten and free it from wrinkles.

A Better Understanding of Eyelid Surgery

Dr. Ellis feels the best candidates to receive an eyelid surgery in his Toronto office may be of either gender, healthy, and have a sensible idea of what he can do for them. The common goal is to make the eyes look at good as possible. Eyelid surgery can be performed on an adult of any age, though Dr. Ellis' patients tend to be thirty-five years and beyond.

Eyelid surgery is minimally invasive, and commonly performed in Dr. Ellis' operating room within his office, with the patient free to return home afterward. The cosmetic procedure may also take place in an outpatient surgical facility or a hospital, with regards to the comfort and discretion of the plastic surgeon.

An eyelid surgery may take as little as one hour, or as many as three hours to wrap up the final stage of surgery. The type of anesthetic used will differ, and may be a sedation combined with a local anesthesia or general anesthesia.

Post-operatively, our patients should be in the care of a responsible adult for the first twenty-four hours following the eyelid surgery. It may be difficult for an eyelid lift patient to see due to tearing, swelling, and a sensitivity to light. Other side affects of the surgery are eye irritation, tight skin around the area of surgery, and bruising. Usually a bandage is applied to the eyes following the eyelid surgery so they are protected and can heal in a sterile environment. Two days to one week after the eyelid surgery, Dr. Ellis or one of his staff members will remove the sutures, and you may return to work within the next few days. If it is deemed safe, makeup can be worn at this time to help conceal bruising. The swelling should subside in about two weeks, and may last up to a full month. As the swelling goes down, contact lenses may be worn. It is advisable to wait three full weeks after your eyelid surgery to strain your body or drink alcohol.

Although precision and skill are used in every cosmetic facial surgery Dr. Ellis performs, there are still risks associated with any kind of surgery. Complications that may arise from the eyelid surgery are whiteheads, excessive bleeding, infection, dryness, an undesirable outcome, blurred vision, and very uncommonly blindness.