Eyelid Surgery Overview

Houston Eyelid Surgery

Upper Blepharoplasty (Upper Eyelid Enhancement)

The eyes are the primary facial feature that communicates tiredness or exhaustion (and, likewise, energy and vitality). Your cheeks and your neck don’t really reflect whether or not you’ve had a good night’s rest. But miss a night of sleep and your eyes will make it obvious to everyone. Dr. Mark Mayo can help you combat the signs of aging around the eyes with upper eyelid surgery. Eyelid surgery (technically called “blepharoplasty”) is a procedure to remove fat – usually along with excess skin and muscle – from the upper eyelids. Eyelid surgery can correct excess, hanging skin covering the natural fold of the upper eyelids – features that make you look older and more tired than you feel, and may even interfere with your vision.

Aesthetic plastic surgery of the eyelids can produce a dramatic rejuvenating effect, literally taking years off of a person’s appearance and is a popular procedure for men as well as women. Many patients find that following eyelid surgery friends will say ‘You look great!’, but they usually cannot pinpoint exactly why.

Excessive or ‘redundant’ upper eyelid skin is a very typical aging change that leads people to seek eyelid surgery. In many patients, this surgery can be performed under light sedation with local anesthesia as an outpatient office procedure. In some cases, protruding fat behind the eyelids is also removed. As with most facial aging changes, no two people present with exactly the same eyelid concerns. Surgical treatment is therefore individualized to the needs of each individual patient.

The entire procedure typically takes 45 minutes to one hour. After the procedure, one may experience some bruising and mild swelling for one to two weeks. Cold compresses the first day and head elevation will reduce these effects. An eyelid ointment is used postoperatively for one to two weeks. Post-op discomfort is usually mild. The sutures we use are absorbed and don’t need to be removed, most patients can resume most normal activities within a few days.

Blepharoplasty is often considered a cosmetic surgery. However, if your eyelids are encroaching on your field of vision or causing chronic irritation, the procedure may be covered as medically necessary. We are happy to contact your insurance to determine if they cover the procedure.