Upper And Lower Blepharoplasty

Only after you’ve had your initial consultation regarding your upper and/or lower blepharoplasty and have made a final decision can the surgery be performed.

Upper Blepharoplasty

Anaesthesia

Upper blepharoplasty can be carried out using either local anaesthetic, sedative anaesthetic or general anaesthetic. Local anaesthetic involves the injection of a numbing agent into the eyelids so that the patient can remain awake throughout your blepharoplasty. Sedative anaesthetic will cause patients to sleep during the surgery and general anaesthetic is, in essence, a medically induced coma. You should discuss each option with your doctor to see which is suitable for you.

Surgery

The surgeon will make an incision along the natural folds of your eyelid. They will then cut along the incision and proceed to remove the excess skin or fat, and tighten the muscle where needed. At the end of the blepharoplasty procedure, the surgeon will close the incision and stitch it up.

Lower Blepharoplasty

Anaesthesia

Just like upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty can be carried out using either local anaesthetic, sedative anaesthetic or general anaesthetic. Your doctor will discuss with you what option best works in your case.

Surgery

The incision is made either inside the lower lid or below the eye in the natural crease. Then the excess skin, muscle or fat will be removed or restructured. After this, the cut will be sutured and the surgery will be over. Lower blepharoplasty can also be done using a transconjunctival incision, which completes the procedure inside the lower eyelid and without removing any skin.

What Is an Asian Blepharoplasty or Double Eyelid Surgery?

Double eyelid surgery (Asian blepharoplasty) is one of the most commonly requested elective cosmetic surgeries among Asian populations such as in South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The suprasternal epicanthic fold, as the crease above the upper eyelid is known, is absent in roughly half of the Asian population, so many choose this surgery for cosmetic reasons.

The double eyelid blepharoplasty involves creating a fold in the upper eyelid to create the double eyelid effect. Double eyelid surgery may be a surgery option also for older persons who wish to counter 'sunken eye deformity', combat wrinkles or reduce sagging in eyelid skin, or for anyone wishing to increase the width of their upper eyelid.

How Does an Asian Blepharoplasty Work?

Double eyelid blepharoplasty includes non-incisional and incisional techniques. More precisely, there are three main kinds of double eyelid surgery available.

Double Eyelid Blepharoplasty - Incisional Techniques

Full Incision

This method involves a single large incision and the removal of excess skin and fat. It is an ideal choice for older patients or anyone with thick or drooping eyelids.

Partial Incision

This method is often recommended for patients with eyelids containing excess fat but no excess skin. It involves several small incisions made along the line of the intended fold through which fat is removed. It is considered to be a less invasive alternative to the full incision method for your double eyelid surgery.

The Double Sutures and Twisting Method (DST) or Non-incisional Method

Also known as the 'closed method', this is the least invasive option for your blepharoplasty, as no incision is required. Sutures are placed at the top of the tarsus (a connective tissue) or attached to the underlying cartilage of the eyelid, creating a fold.

Modern DST procedures can be broken down into 'buried' and 'non-buried' procedures:

• Non-buried methods are the simplest and involve the placement of sutures through the skin and into the connective tissue. Sutures are usually removed a few days later.

• The buried method involves absorbable sutures being 'buried' into the muscle. This method is appealing as it does not require suture removal, thereby reducing the risk of scarring, and it also affords the surgeon greater freedom when it comes to dictating the width of the fold.

The DST method offers the shortest duration and recovery time after your blepharoplasty but can occasionally present issues in terms of long-lasting results.

What Should I Expect From This Procedure?

A blepharoplasty procedure can be done for functional reasons to allow for an unimpaired field of vision or for aesthetic improvement of the eye region. A lower blepharoplasty is almost always done for the latter reason and can also be combined with a facelift or a browlift. Both types of surgeries follow the same procedural protocol and have a high rate of success. When going in for the surgery for cosmetic reasons, it is vital to make your intentions and expectations clear to your surgeon to achieve the best results.

Recovery Time and Results

After your blepharoplasty surgery, your may feel a little discomfort in your eyes or they may just feel a little unusual. Sensitivity to light and swelling are common and will dissipate with time. It is important to be patient and not force the recovery in any way, or place undue stress on your eyes. It is also important to bear in mind that the final results of your blepharoplasty may take as long as three months to show - that is to say, due to swelling and healing, the fold may take this long to settle into its final position. In addition, the slight swelling that may persist for as long as three months after the procedure may cause the width of the double eyelid to remain wider than the final result during that period.