Blepharoplasty Austin, TX (Eyelid Surgery)

During your consultation for blepharoplasty, Dr. Buckingham will meet with you and perform a complete facial analysis to determine the best procedure to achieve your desired results. He will also be sure to answer any and all questions that you may have. The doctor may utilize digital imaging or provide photographic results of previous patients to enhance the experience.

Dr. Buckingham performs isolated upper eyelid blepharoplasty in the office with local anesthesia and mild oral sedation. Procedures involving the lower eyelid, forehead, brow or fat transfer are performed in an outpatient facility.

The incisions made for blepharoplasty and their resulting scars are typically hidden or well concealed, either within the natural creases of the upper eyelids or inside of the lower eyelids. As with all of his surgeries, Dr. Buckingham uses the smallest incisions necessary to perform the surgery and places them in discrete, well-camouflaged locations.

There is little to no discomfort during the blepharoplasty surgery as modern anesthesia techniques are used. While blepharoplasty may result in a temporary tight or sore feeling of the eyelids, Dr. Buckingham uses special surgical techniques to help minimize post-operative discomfort. Discomfort can be alleviated with medication if necessary.

Surface sutures are removed around 7 days after your blepharoplasty surgery.

Not all surgeons are comfortable performing double eyelid surgery in Asian patients. While we perform that surgery because of our patient population we do not perform it often. The surgery is very similar in many ways to conventional blepharoplasty however other techniques are necessary to create the eyelid crease.

Blepharoplasty is often performed with local anesthesia and other sedation or even general anesthesia if needed. The anesthesia used is based on the procedure chosen and other patient factors which will be determined during the consultation.

For upper eyelid blepharoplasty, Dr. Buckingham makes a very fine incision within the natural eyelid crease. He then removes excess skin and possibly fatty pockets of the upper eyelid, using a special thermal scalpel to treat the puffy regions. For the lower eyelids, Dr. Buckingham may remove excess lower eyelid fatty tissue through a hidden incision inside of the eyelid. For other patients, it may be necessary to address the tear trough beneath the eyelid puffiness which can be achieved through several different techniques.

The surgical time for blepharoplasty generally takes anywhere from one to two hours. Longer times may be required if including fat transfer or endoscopic browlit.

For upper eyelid blepharoplasty, a fine incision is made within the natural eyelid crease. For transconjunctival lower eyelid blepharoplasty, a hidden incision is made inside the lower eyelid. When addressing the tear troughs below the lower eyelids, other incisions may be necessary and this will be discussed during consultation.

The recovery after blepharoplasty can last anywhere from three or four days, to ten to fourteen days. Patients who receive additional skin resurfacing will have a more lengthy recovery. Bruising and swelling may occur and will fade after one to two weeks. The eyes may feel slightly dry at first, a condition that is relieved with artificial tear use. Usually the patient may wear glasses immediately and may read, however vision is at times slightly blurry. Contact use may be limited depending on the procedure.

Recovery after blepharoplasty can last anywhere from three or four days to as much as ten to fourteen days. Patients may be able to return to work within three to ten days and to their full social activities within one to two weeks. On average, patients are able to return to work within seven to ten days after their blepharoplasty surgery.

Light walking-type exercise can typically be resumed within one week after blepharoplasty. More strenuous activities may need to be postponed for about two to three weeks as vigorous activities can increase swelling, prolong healing, and risk bleeding.

A lower eyelid blepharoplasty is the usual procedure to remove eyelid bags. Often there is a teartrough or orbital hollow inferior to the orbital bag. This is usually filled with autologous fat or filler to improve the results.

Yes. A droopy eyelid appearance is caused from just excess skin or the eyelid itself may be low. The later is referred to as ptosis (silent “p”). In either case using different techniques the eyelid can be lifted to bring them into symmetry.

No. Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) is intended to improve the contours of the upper or lower eyelid. In upper eyelid surgery, redundant skin and potentially deeper tissue is removed to relieve the overhanging skin. In the lower eyelid surgery is used to remove eyelid bags and if needed the trough of the lower eyelid is filled in with autologous fat or fillers. Crow’s feet are a result of repetitive muscle contraction and skin aging. Therefore that is the treatment. The muscle activity is treated with Botox or Dysport and the skin is treated with a laser or chemical peel.

In general, our goal is to not change the shape of the eye from what it looked like in youth. If, however, the eye was closed due to significant redundant skin or the lower lid is pulled down due to involutional changes of the skin, then one would expect to see a positive improvement in the shape of the eye with intervention.