As you age, the skin around your eyes can begin to droop or sag, which may or may not impede your vision but will affect your confidence. Luckily, there is a cosmetic procedure that can address both, and it’s called eyelid surgery. At Aesthetic Surgical Arts in Overland Park, KS, we offer this effective anti-aging procedure that can open up your eyes, restore your youth and your vision, and help you feel more like your younger self again.
How Long Does It Take To Recover From Eyelid Surgery?
Once you undergo eyelid surgery, also known as blepharoplasty, you can expect to spend approximately seven to 14 days resting and recovering. Once you reach the two-week point, you can enjoy your new, youthful-looking eye area.
It typically takes approximately six months to post-op to be free of any visible redness, but know that every day that passes after your procedure is one day closer to you experiencing and enjoying some long-lasting and noticeable results.
The Recovery Process: What To Expect
It’s important to know what to expect post-procedure so that you can experience a quick, healthy recovery. After your procedure, you must spend the first four to five days resting and recovering before having the stitches removed. You’ll be able to apply makeup a few days after the procedure and, within 7 to 10 days, can resume your normal daily activities. After two weeks, you’ll be able to enjoy your results, and by six months, you will look completely healed.
How to Promote a Healthy Recovery
Before undergoing the procedure, we will provide you with aftercare directors that you must follow to promote a quick and healthy recovery. However, some of the choices you make during this recovery will influence your body’s ability to heal.
First, you must follow all of the directions provided by our surgeon. Doing so will ensure that you are taking every step possible to promote healing. Making the right lifestyle choices during your recovery can significantly impact your body’s ability to heal.
Plan Ahead
Planning for your procedure and your recovery is something that only you can do. We can’t do it for you, but we can tell you that it’s one of the best ways to ensure that you spend those first several days resting and healing.
Planning nutritious meals, finding someone who can help you with household duties or childcare immediately following your procedure, and tying up any loose ends before your scheduled procedure are all important. Planning ahead will make a significant difference in helping you feel relaxed during the recovery process.
Eat the Right Foods
There are some specific foods that you can add to your diet that will promote healing after surgery. These foods contain antioxidants and nutrients that will support your health and help your body repair and recover.
From fruits to healthy fats, it’s important that you add the right foods to promote healing so that you can feel your best throughout your recovery and get back to the things you love as quickly as possible. Some of the best foods to include in your post-surgery include:
- Fruits
- Healthy fats
- Lean proteins
- Leafy greens
- Whole grains
Hydrate
It’s completely normal for your body to become somewhat dehydrated after surgery. For that reason, it’s important that you hydrate so that you can recover as quickly as possible. You may even require more water than you would on a normal day during your recovery to help promote hydration and healing.
If you’re not a fan of drinking plain water, consider adding natural flavors to improve the taste. Additionally, non-caffeinated herbal teas and water or broth-based soups count towards your daily water intake, so adding those to your diet can help you get some essential nutrients and fulfill your hydration needs.
Avoid Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits
During your recovery, it’s important that you avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and even drinking too much coffee. Eating sugary or salty foods is an unhealthy habit because salt promotes bloating and water retention, while excess sugar promotes inflammation.
Inflammation is the last thing you want when your body is trying to heal, so limiting or completely cutting out processed foods with simple sugars is one of the best things that you can do.
Exercise Only As Directed
Once your procedure is over, you will be provided with a complete list of ways to promote healing, as well as a list of activities you should avoid. While you should avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activity, you will be advised to get movement to keep your body as healthy as possible during your recovery. Following our guidelines for light exercise can make a big difference in how you feel during your recovery and can even promote healing.
While you may feel like resting for the first few days post-surgery, it’s important that you get physical activity. Movement increases blood flow and helps promote endorphin release, which will help you maintain a stable and healthy mood during your recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens During the Procedure?
Blepharoplasty is a completely customizable procedure; the surgical treatment plan will look different for different patients. Some patients choose to address their upper and lower eyelids, while others only want to address one area. Based on your treatment plan, the surgeon will make an incision in the upper or lower eyelid to remove excess tissue, fat, and skin, smooth wrinkles, and tighten the entire area.
How Long Does the Procedure Take?
Eyelid surgery can take anywhere from one and a half to two hours, based on the complexity of your treatment plan. Once we create your unique treatment plan during your consultation, we can determine exactly how long your procedure will take.
What Causes Aging Around the Eyes?
Aside from the aging process itself, many different factors cause the eyes to take on a more aged-looking appearance. Sun exposure, genetics, and lifestyle factors all play a part in the formation of wrinkles, lines, and drooping or sagging skin around the eyes.
It can also cause puffiness due to excess fatty tissue. Regardless of why your eyes have begun to take on an older and less aesthetic-looking appearance, we can use eyelid surgery to address each of your concerns and restore youth to the entire area.
What Is Traditional Blepharoplasty?
Traditional blepharoplasty is also known as stitching eyelids and is a technique that has traditionally been used to address the eyes during this procedure. It involves the creation of an incision in the upper eyelid near the temples. This location hides the scar once the procedure is complete. Traditional blepharoplasty can also address the lower lids and involves an incision along the lower lash line. That scar is then hidden once the surgery is complete.
What Is the Transconjunctival Approach?
The transconjunctival approach is an innovative technique used during blepharoplasty to help hide incisions. This technique has its advantages because it involves the creation of an incision inside the lower eyelid and allows the surgeon to remove excess fat.
However, one of the limitations of this particular technique is that it does not allow the surgeon to remove any excess skin from the area. Both of these techniques have advantages, and our surgeon will choose the right one for you based on your needs.
Will I Need Anesthesia?
When you choose to undergo this procedure, you will need to undergo some form of sedation. Local anesthesia will be administered around the eyes, and an IV will be inserted into your arm to deliver the right amount of sedation to help you remain comfortable throughout the procedure. You will not go under, but instead, will remain awake throughout the entire procedure.
Where Does the Surgery Take Place?
All of our blepharoplasty procedures are performed at a local surgical center. These are outpatient procedures, and you can rest assured that you will be cared for by an experienced medical team that will take every measure to help you feel confident and comfortable throughout the entirety of the procedure.
How Long Will My Results Last?
Eyelid surgery is intended to be permanent. It removes excess skin and fat from the eye area to help restore youth to the eyes. However, because aging cannot be stopped, you may experience additional wrinkles around your eyes later in life. If you choose this procedure to remove bags from beneath your eyes, you can rest assured that they will be very unlikely to return since this procedure removes the excess fat causing those bags in the first place.
Maintaining Your Results Long Term
If at some point you do begin to notice wrinkles at the outer corners of your eyes years after your procedure, there is a solution, and it’s non-surgical. Laser resurfacing treatments provide an effective solution to help eliminate these wrinkles and restore youth to the area. Know that there are minimally invasive options that can help maintain youthful-looking eyes so that you can enjoy your results long-term.
Taking Preventative Measures
Additionally, taking steps to protect your eyes from accelerated aging will make a significant difference in helping you maintain your results long-term. Wearing a hat and sunglasses when exposed to the sun, as well as high-quality sunscreen each day, will protect the skin around your eyes from the sun’s damaging rays.
Investing in professional-grade skincare products specifically designed for the skin around the eyes can also help ward off the signs of aging and keep your skin elastic and youthful.
Am I a Candidate?
Both men and women who want to improve the appearance of their eyes that have been affected by the aging process make good candidates for blepharoplasty. As with any elective or non-elective surgical procedure, one of the most important qualifying factors is that you are in good health.
Those who want to address some specific signs of aging around their eyes, including excess skin, excess fat, under-eye bags, skin laxity, lines, and wrinkles, or vision that has been impeded by drooping skin, make a good candidate for this procedure. An initial consultation with one of our experienced surgeons is the best way to determine if eyelid surgery is the right choice for you.
Transform Your Eye Area
If you are feeling less confident about your appearance because your eyes just don’t look as youthful as they used to, there is a solution. Eyelid surgery can help open up your eyes and restore your youth and confidence. Contact us today at Aesthetic Surgical Arts in Overland Park, KS, to schedule your initial consultation to determine if this procedure is right for you.
