Blepharoplasty or upper eyelid surgery

Blepharoplasty or skin thightening

The skin of the upper eyelid and under the eyes is the thinnest skin on the body. The average thickness is 0.3-0.4 mm. Due to this, the skin weakens and stretches easily. People can suffer from tired and gloomy eyes, they feel a heaviness in the forehead and can occasionally get headaches.

When are you a good candidate for surgery?

If you have more than a couple of mm skin excess a blepharoplasty is the best option. Contra indications are a cardiac device and certain permable anticoagulantion medication.

Our experienced plastic surgeon will carry out a video consultation to set the indication for surgery, they will inform you about the expected outcome, the procedure itself and the small risks involved.

Blepharoplasty of upper eyelid surgery

How is a blepharoplasty performed?

This surgery is performed under local anaesthesia. The skin that needs to be taken away is marked in an upright position by the plastic surgeon, after the area is disinfected, local anaesthesia is administered. The patient feels that surgery is being performed, but they will feel no pain.

The marked skin is removed, if there is fat excess under the eyebrow in the orbital region, this can be removed during the same procedure (there can be an excess of retro orbital fat in the medial part of the upper eyelid). After thorough coagulation the plastic surgeon will stitch the skin with a running suture on both eyes and the stitch is covered with small plasters. The stitches will need to be removed after one week by a nurse or general practitioner.

After the operation the patient will cool the area with a cooling pad for about half an hour. If there aren’t any particularities, you can travel to the airport or the hotel nearby. It is recommend that patients delay flying until the day after surgery. If this is not possible you can fly the same day, but it is important that you do not travel alone.
We advise patients to use the cooling pad for the first two days, every hour for 10 minutes. It is not necessary to cool the area during the night. Driving a car, cycling or sport activities are not recommended for at least three days after surgery. It is also recommend that you don’t work for seven days. Computer work is possible after 3-4 days.

For the first two days the eyelids will be very swollen, this is normal due to the local anaesthesia and the healing process.
After one week, the swelling should have reduced by 50%, after two weeks by 80%. Almost all of the swelling will have disappeared after six weeks.

After the stitches have been removed, you will be allowed to go about your normal daily routine, however it is important that you do not rub your eyelids. Heavy sports and applying makeup to the area are not recommended until at least two weeks after the surgery.

The scar will be in the crease of the upper eyelid and will disappear for 90%, however this will take an average of 6-9 months.

The risks and complications associated with a blepharoplasty are very limited. There is a slight chance of an infection after 5-7 days. In very rear cases, haemorrhaging can occur the day after surgery. It may be necessary to treat this complication, which is why we recommend patients don’t fly home the same day.

Upper eyelid surgery is often combined with other procedures. For example botox treatment for the glabella area, under eyelid surgery or tightening or an eyebrow lift procedure. You can inform about the possibilities during your video consultation.

Who will preform the operation?

The blepharoplasty will always be performed by an experienced plastic surgeon. In the Netherlands surgeons who have graduated from medical school are required to complete six years of training in order to specialise in plastic surgery. At Esser clinics, our surgeons have at least three years of experience in this kind of surgery and perform hundreds of procedures per year.