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What to expect with an eye lift or upper eye lid surgery

What is an eye lift?

An eye lift is a surgery to smooth out eye lids, lift them, and create a younger, refreshed appearance. More technically called an upper lid blepharoplasty, an eye lift is often performed in tandem with a brow lift, lower lid blepharoplasty, laser resurfacing, injectables, or a face lift. Your Charlotte, NC cosmetic facial plastic surgeon specializes in eye lifts and beyond.

 

Pre-surgery steps

Before surgery, you will have a consultation with your cosmetic facial plastic surgeon. During this meeting, he will examine your eyes and eye lids to determine if you are a candidate for the procedure. Some medical problems may limit or totally prevent your candidacy for surgery, including blurry vision, diabetes, double vision, thyroid problems, and dry eye. Your surgeon will take before photos to compare to your results, answer any questions you have, and ensure your aesthetic goals are understood. Lastly, the clinic staff will go over the cost of the procedure, including the medical facility and anesthesiologist fees, plus pre-surgery lab tests and fasting that may be required.

 

Procedure

The procedure is performed under general anesthesia, meaning you will not be awake. Keep in mind that you will need someone to bring you home after surgery, as the anesthesia takes hours to completely wear off. During the procedure, your surgeon will make an incision along the natural fold of the upper eye lid. He will remove excess skin, fat, and muscle, and then close the incision. It is hidden well by the eye lid’s natural contour. You may experience itchiness or dryness during recovery, which takes about 10 days. Stitches dissolve or are removed within 5 days, swelling mostly subsides within 7, and the majority of bruising diminishes after 10. You can hide the bruising quite well with makeup.

 

Associated procedures

Many patients elect to have multiple related cosmetic procedures done at once. The most popular ones to have with an eye lift are a brow lift, face lift, lower lid blepharoplasty, laser skin resurfacing, or injectables.. Brow lifts correct the drooping that can happen with eye brows as your age, which pushes excess skin into the eye lid area. Oftentimes, a brow lifts is a more apt procedure for a patient’s circumstance than an upper eye lid lift because of the way skin is pushed down into the eye area. An endoscopic brow lift can help correct this and deep wrinkles and frown lines caused by aging and stress.

 

Dr. M. Sean Freeman

Dr. M. Sean Freeman is Charlotte’s most experienced facial plastic surgeon. He has specialized in cosmetic facial plastic surgery and lasers since 1988. Dr. Freeman performs his surgeries at the Center for Facial Plastic and Laser Surgery in Charlotte, which is a state-of-the-art facility.

Contact Dr. Sean Freeman at Only FacesCharlotte’s most experienced rhinoplasty surgeon and top facial plastic surgeon, to schedule a consultation to find out what procedure is right for you. Call today.