Lower Eyelid Surgery & Lower Blepharoplasty in Orange County

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Procedure: Improvement in lower eyelid contour with resolution of eyelid bulges, lower eyelid hollow, and redundant skin by strategic resection of redundant skin, resection and/or repositioning of droopy eyelid fat, and suspension of eyelid muscle.

Length: Ranges between 1 to 2 hours.

Anesthesia: General anesthesia.

Place of Treatment: Outpatient surgical suite or hospital operating room.

Recovery: The recovery period for lower eyelid surgery with a return to most daily activities is around 4 to 5 days. Patients will typically return to work within 10 days following surgery. Patients may return to full physical activity within 4 weeks following surgery.

Duration of Results: Patients who have undergone lower eyelid surgery can expect aesthetically pleasing results for life. Early revisions are rare and are typically discouraged. Patients will notice turning back of the clock by approximately 5 to 10 years following lower eyelid surgery.

Side Effects: Side effects are events that may be experienced by patients as a result of your surgery and should not be considered adverse events. Our patients are counseled regarding these effects and if experienced they are tolerable and often temporary in duration.

1. Inability to close the eye is usually temporary and subsides over 1 to 2 weeks.
2. Redness of the incision lines may be noticeable extending beyond the lash line and may persist over the 1st month following surgery.
3. Residual asymmetry of the lower eyelids may be present if asymmetry was pronounced preoperatively.

Risks: Risks are unwanted events that may occur during or following surgery. These events are recognized as “complications” but their occurrence is minimized by appropriate patient selection, proper surgical decision making, effective surgical technique, and thorough preoperative and postoperative patient management.

1. Double vision: Diplopia or double vision is rare but may occur following lower eyelid surgery if muscles that move the globe of the eye are inadvertently injured during removal of protruding fat pads. Injury to these muscles, termed extraocular muscles, will result in immediate or gradual development of double vision which will require more invasive surgery to repair.
2. Severe eyelid drooping: Severe lower lid drooping(ectropion) is a result of over aggressive resection of the redundant lower eyelid skin or damage to the motor nerves of the lower eyelid closing muscle (orbicularis oculi). When this complication is not helped by message and taping of the lower eyelid, then lower lid tightening, repositioning, and/or even lower lid skin grafting may be necessary to resolve this complication.
3. Bleeding or small hematoma may occur and refers to the accumulation of blood in the early postoperative period which pools into a surgical pocket. Since the space in the orbit is limited, hematomas must be drained immediately as any increased build up of fluid may result in disruption of your incision line and/or increase pressure on the eye globe itself.
4. Infection: An infection can occur following lower eyelid surgery but is very rare. The eyelid tissue as is the facial skin is very well vascularized and not likely to get infected. In addition, lower eyelid patients are provided antibiotic eyedrops which should suppress any potential bacterial growth.
5. Dry eyes: Dry eyes may develop as a result of changing pressures on the eyeball caused by the tightening of the overlying eyelid skin. The increase in pressure is believed to affect the eye lubrication and draining system (lacrimal system) which keep the eye moistened at all times. Patients who have a propensity for dry eyes preoperatively should be cautioned about developing this complication. Fortunately, as the eye accommodates to its new state, dry eyes tend to resolve over several months.
6. Visual compromise: Although this an extremely rare complication, it is conceivable that direct damage to the globe of the eye and/or the vascularity of the globe of the eye could occur resulting in blindness. Compression resulting from an un-drained hematoma may result in compression of the vessels feeding the globe of the eye.