Deciding if an eye lift is right for you
If you want to undergo an eye lift, you should be reasonably health, with no medical conditions. If you have problems such as blurry vision, dry eye, double vision, diabetes or thyroid problems, an eye lift would be a bad idea. A good rule for any plastic surgery is that if you smoke, you should stop before undergoing it. Smoking makes your body heal slower. Avoid taking aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs just before the surgery. Tell your surgeon beforehand about any other medications you are taking, and follow his or her advice on whether you should take them before surgery.
On average, most patients are back to normal in two weeks, with only a little bruising visible. Resting, keeping your head elevated and using cold packs will speed up recovery time. Be sure to take any medication your surgeon prescribes in order to reduce the risk of infection and speed the healing process. Keep your eyes out of the sun — if you must go outside on sunny days, use dark-tinted sunglasses. Your surgeon will have more advice for you.
When an eye lift is being performed to reduce the effects of aging, it’s usually performed alongside other procedures with similar aims, such as lower lid surgery, a brow lift, filler, injectables or laser skin resurfacing. This may require spending a little more time recovering.
Sometimes a brow lift would work better
In a regular eye lift, the surgeon makes a cut along the natural fold of the upper eyelid, then removes excess skin, fat and muscle. This is done under general anesthesia . However, in some cases, the problem is not the eyelids themselves, but the skin above them. As you age, the skin on your forehead gradually sags downward and a little to the center, forcing its way into the space of the upper eyelids. In these cases, an endoscopic brow lift will correct the problem. The surgeon inserts a tiny light and camera at the end of a thin tube under the skin of the brow, then draws the skin, muscle and connective tissue back into place. After the surgery, you’ll need pain medication for a few days. Swelling and bruising should be gone in about two weeks.
Eye lift surgery in Charlotte
The first step is to find out which procedure you need, and what else should be done. Sean Freeman, MD, is Charlotte’s most experienced facial plastic surgeon. He has practiced only facial plastic surgery since 1988, including procedures on the eyelids. He runs a state-of-the-art facility and has made a YouTube video that explains the procedure and shows several before and after photos of his eye lift patients. If you are interested in an eye lift, make an appointment or request an online consultation today.
Contact Dr. Sean Freeman at Only Faces, Charlotte’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.