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.
Shortly after the surgery, bruising and swelling will start to appear and they will peak in about two to four days. Over the next few days, most of the swelling will gradually subside.
Your eyes may look swollen and bruised after your surgery. The eyelid swelling is usually worse early in the morning and will get better during the day as you sit or walk around. You may also have swelling on your cheeks and jawline. This will start to get better 2 to 3 weeks after your surgery.
Apply gentle ice packs to the surgical area for 30 minutes out of every hour for the first 72 hours while you are awake. Ice helps with pain, decreases swelling, and reduces bruising. Ice does not help as much after 72 hours.
Icing your surgical site intermittently (off and on) helps to control pain and swelling while minimizing risks of icing too much. Keeping ice on longer than the recommended amounts of time or putting ice directly may cause other problems, such as frostbite or skin damage, which won't help your body heal from surgery.
Starting three days after surgery, you may apply a warm compress for five minutes at a time as many times a day as need for comfort. If you have dissolvable sutures, its important to perform the compresses at least 3-5//day to help the sutures dissolve.
Swelling is a common, normal side effect of blepharoplasty, also known as eyelid lift surgery. Swelling typically appears shortly after surgery, peaks two to four days after the procedure, and then slowly subsides over the next few days.
Complications after cosmetic eyelid surgery are uncommon but can include dry eyes, tearing, excess scarring, inability to close the eyes, rounded or sad eyes, eyelid retraction, and other eyelid and facial malpositions.
This is a misnomer as a blepharoplasty does not lift the eyelid but removes skin and fat to enhance the upper eyelid appearance. In so doing, the skin removal may make the appearance of the eyelid to brow distance look smaller.
Apply ice or a cold pack wrapped in a clean, wet washcloth to the eye for 15 to 20 minutes at a time to decrease eyelid swelling and pain. You can safely give your child an allergy medicine or antihistamine by mouth. This will help to decrease eyelid swelling and itching. Benadryl every 6 hours or so is best.
Your eyelid may be swollen and bruised for 1 to 3 weeks after surgery. The appearance of your eye may continue to get better for 1 to 3 months. Most people feel ready to go out in public and back to work in about 10 to 14 days.
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.
Recovery Time
Recovery can be broken down into 3 parts: bruising, swelling, and the maturation of the incision/scar. Bruising goes away first, taking about 2 to 3 weeks. Next is swelling that is much more variable, lasting upwards of 8 weeks or more. It is a slow gradual diminution.
Lower eyelid retraction is a devastating complication of bad blepharoplasty results in which the lower eyelid is pulled down. Lower lid retraction has primarily been reported in patients who underwent a transcutaneous approach to lower eyelid surgery – when the surgery is done through lower lid skin.
Also, be careful to avoid everyday activities such as lifting heavy items, bending over or lying flat, which can increase blood flow to your eyes or put pressure on your healing lids.
In addition to eyelid numbness, temporary tightness around the eyes after blepharoplasty is an expected side effect. This may feel strange or even frightening at first, but rest assured that this is a normal postoperative effect that should subside with time.
If swollen eyes were caused by an injury, ibuprofen (Advil) may help bring down swelling and inflammation. Ibuprofen is recommended instead of acetaminophen (Tylenol), as acetaminophen is not an anti-inflammatory medication.
You can generally expect to need between five and 10 days off from work. Usually, people who only get upper or lower blepharoplasty feel up to going back to work after just a week off. Contrastingly, people who get upper and lower eyelid surgery feel they need two full weeks to dedicate to their recovery.
On the day of surgery, place an ice pack over the surgical area for about 10 minutes every hour. Starting on the day after surgery, you can reduce the use of ice packs to 3-4 times each day. Continue using ice packs as needed to reduce swelling.
You should begin gentle massage to the eyelids one week after surgery. This will help smooth any irregularities and areas of firmness. You may apply lotion to your hand to massage and/or you may use a vibrating massager.
After the first three days – or 72 hours – swelling should have peaked, and you can begin to use heat. But not on all injuries. “For aches related to bones or joints, ice is still a good treatment option,” Jake said.
The inflammatory process is most active in the first 24 hours after a surgery, persisting for up to 2 weeks. We recommend that you continue the aforementioned icing routine for the first 2 weeks after your surgery. This is a very effective way to maximize your healing environment.