Please avoid caffeine drinks 48 hours prior to surgery (coffee, energy drinks). Please have nothing to eat or drink after 12 midnight, the night before your surgery. Please wear comfortable clothes the day or your surgery.
The eyelids are naturally delicate and even more so after surgery. Avoid rubbing them, pressing on them or performing any other activity that stretches or puts pressure on them. Be gentle when washing your face or showering, and avoid getting them wet.
An adult should stay with you for at least the first 24 hours after surgery. You should rest with your head elevated in a recliner or with at least 2 pillows for the first 48 hours after surgery. Take the prescribed pain medications before you begin to feel discomfort. It is easier to prevent pain than control it.
After blepharoplasty surgery, the eyelids will be bruised and swollen for one to three weeks. However, most patients say their eyes look normal and better than before after one to three months.
Avoid activities that raise your blood pressure, including bending, lifting and rigorous sports. Keep activities to a minimum for 3-5 days; avoid strenuous activities for 2-3 weeks. Read or watch television after 2-3 days. Return to work in 10-14 days.
Post-operative swelling peaks at about 48-72 hours, and then subsides over the next few days. The majority of swelling after eyelid surgery will disappear in the first week, but small amounts may persist for 6 - 12 weeks during which subtle improvements in appearance will continue.
Your eyelids will probably look puffy after surgery. The incisions will probably look red, too. The swelling and bruising involved with blepharoplasty recovery tend to resemble a black eye. That is all normal.
Within 24 hours of any surgical procedure that involves anesthesia, you should avoid high-fiber foods of all types, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. During the two weeks leading up to surgery, you should avoid eating fish or taking fish oil or omega-3 supplements.
Do not drink anything except for clear water after midnight the night before surgery. If you do not fast, we will need to cancel your surgery. Take your daily medications as usual on the morning of surgery with small sips of water. If you are diabetic, do not take any oral diabetic medication the morning of surgery.
No solid food for 6 hours prior to your surgery. No thick liquids after midnight (Milk, cream, orange juice, prune juice.) Up to 2 hours before surgery, we encourage you to drink clear liquids (coffee, tea, apple juice, water, soft drinks or meat broth.) Sugar in your coffee and tea is okay, but no milk products.
Let Your Eyes Rest
To do that, it's a good idea to limit your reading, TV watching, and computer use, at least for the first few days after surgery. Odds are that your eyes might feel so dry and tired that the idea of trying to focus on a screen or read text in a book doesn't sound very appealing anyway.
Physical Exercise after Eyelid Surgery – Blepharoplasty
Walking is one of the best form of exercise after eyelid surgery. Walking in the initial phases of recovery can promote blood circulation, prevent blood clots and lead to a smoother recovery.
You can shower or wash your hair the day after surgery. Keep water, soap, shampoo, hair spray, and shaving lotion out of your eye, especially for the first week. Do not rub or put pressure on your eye for at least 2 weeks.
The appearance of the eyes can be dramatically altered by the removal of excess skin or puffy bags under the eyes. Eyes that are weighed down or crowded by aging skin or puffy bulges may seem smaller or narrower. Once this skin is removed, the eye can appear more open, rounder, and awake.
This is known as a lateral canthopexy. The problem is that as the stitch loosens it can cause the eye to round a bit and look like a dog. This can also lead to functional problems of dry eye. Conversely, the canthopexy can be overtightened accidentally or in order to compensate for perceived relaxation over time.
Some patients will have the white of the eye turn red or pink and this is not a problem. Some patients may also experience what looks like a blistering of the eyeball. This is from swelling and is rarely a problem. Call your doctor if you have concerns.
After eyelid surgery, it may take about two to three weeks for your vision to return to normal. During the first few days, you may have blurry and double vision caused by eyelid swelling that is usually temporary.
According to a study published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, pain tends to peak around 4.4 hours after surgery. Likewise, swelling peaks at 17 hours, blurred vision at 8.7 hours, and bruising at 33.6 hours. The pain is typically mild to moderate and can last for up to seven days.
Generally, an upper lid blepharoplasty is a non painful procedure that patients can usually have performed, and enjoy a minimal amount of post-operative pain medicine, because the procedure is very mild. It's almost like a skin excision, and the eyelid itself is not particularly painful.
1-2 Weeks After the Eyelid Surgery
You will still have puffiness and swelling around your eyes. It usually subsides within a period of two weeks. The incisions around the eyes will be pinkish-red in colour. Your eyelids will be numb for several days.
A rare complication after blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) can rob patients of something that most of us take for granted: the ability to fully close the eyes. Unfortunately, this problem, known as lagophthalmos, can make the simplest tasks like sleeping or showering extremely difficult.
By improving the appearance of droopy or sagging skin, your eyes will look younger. In addition to this, your entire face will look more youthful. People who undergo a blepharoplasty enjoy newfound self-confidence in their appearance. The effects of the procedure are long-term, typically lasting more than ten years.