admin Risks
All surgery has risks, including reaction to anesthesia and blood clots. Besides those, rare risks of eyelid surgery include:
- Infection and bleeding
- Dry, irritated eyes
- Difficulty closing the eyes or other eyelid problems
- Noticeable scarring
- Injury to eye muscles
- Skin discoloration
- Temporarily blurred vision or, rarely, loss of eyesight
- The need for follow-up surgery
How you prepare
Before scheduling blepharoplasty, you’ll meet with a health care provider. Providers you meet with may include a plastic surgeon, an eye specialist (ophthalmologist), or an ophthalmologist who specializes in plastic surgery around the eyes (oculoplastic surgeon). The discussion includes:
- Your medical history. Your care provider will ask about previous surgeries. Your provider may also ask about past or current conditions such as dry eyes, glaucoma, allergies, circulatory problems, thyroid problems and diabetes. Your provider will also ask about your use of drugs, vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.
- Your goals. A discussion of what you want from the surgery will help set the stage for a good outcome. Your care provider will discuss with you whether the procedure is likely to work well for you.
Before your eyelid surgery, you’ll likely have a physical exam and the following:
- Complete eye exam. This might include testing tear production and measuring parts of the eyelids.
- Visual field testing. This is to see if there are blind spots in the corners of the eyes (peripheral vision). This is needed to support an insurance claim.
- Eyelid photography. Photos from different angles help with planning the surgery, and documenting whether there’s a medical reason for it, which might support an insurance claim.
And your provider will likely ask you to do the following:
- Stop taking warfarin (Jantoven), aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen sodium (Aleve, others), naproxen (Naprosyn), and other drugs or herbal supplements that can increase bleeding. Ask your health care provider how long before surgery to stop taking these drugs. Take only drugs approved by your surgeon.
- Quit smoking several weeks before surgery. Smoking can reduce the ability to heal after surgery.
- Arrange for someone to drive you to and from surgery if you are having outpatient surgery. Plan to have someone stay with you for the first night after returning home from surgery.
READ MORE: Blepharoplasty Cost Price Procedure Overview
