Upper Or Lower Eyelid Surgery In Kenya

Upper blepharoplasty is an eyelid surgery procedure used to remove excess skin and puffiness from the upper eyelid – the area that makes you look tired and worn out. Lower blepharoplasty involves reducing the depth of your tear trough area, reducing puffiness (“baggy eyes”) and also reducing excess skin and wrinkling from below your eyes. After a blepharoplasty, your eyes will look fresher; you will look rested and more youthful.

Any one or combination of the following conditions may indicate that you may be considered a good candidate for eyelid surgery:

Cosmetic eyelid surgery can usually correct these problems, though other treatments may also need to be considered. If the upper eyelid condition is accompanied by sagging of the eyebrows, then a forehead lift or brow lift may be recommended. Smoothing of crow’s feet on the side of your may be accomplished with botulinum toxin, radiofrequency or laser resurfacing procedures. Circles beneath the eyes caused by dark pigmentation may be treated with cosmeceutical skin products, microneedling, PRP or lipofilling (nanofatgrafting).

During the consultation, you will be asked about the results you would like to achieve from your blepharoplasty surgery. This will help us to understand your expectations and determine whether they realistically can be achieved.

The particular technique that we use will depends on many factors such as the amount of excess fat and skin in the eyelid areas, the position of your eyebrows, and the condition of muscles around your eyelids. Because of individual factors, not everyone will achieve the same results from eyelid surgery. We will select the surgical technique that we feel will obtain the best outcome for you.

For upper eyelid surgery, generally an incision is hidden within the natural fold of the upper eyelid and extends slightly beyond the outside corner into the laugh lines or other existing creases. Through this incision, excess skin, a strip of muscle and fatty tissue are removed. Because the incision follows the natural contour of the upper eyelid, it usually is inconspicuous.

For lower eyelid surgery the incision is hidden just below the lower lashes.

Through this incision, excess skin, muscle and sometimes a little fat are removed. Commonly, fat may be redistributed to eliminate puffiness or bulges, or fill in tear troughs. Other adjustments to correct special problems such as muscle laxity may be performed, where the lower eyelid is tightened to avoid it from being pulled downwards. As in upper eyelid surgery, placement of the incision in natural crease lines allows for the scar to usually heal in an inconspicuous fashion.

If both the upper and lower eyelids are involved then surgery may be carried out under a general anaesthetic. This may also include an overnight stay in hospital. If the upper eyelids only are operated on then this procedure can be performed as a day case. This surgery takes around 1 to 2 hours to complete.

We will keep a close eye on you after your surgery. The small wounds will be covered with Steristrip-tapes, your eyes will be lubricated with an ointment, which might initially cause blurry vision when you open your eyes, and you will receive a cooling-mask to cover your eyes.

During the post-operative period, cooling the area around your eyes is most important in order to reduce swelling and bruising.Oral medications will help with pain and discomfort during your recoveryif necessary. Dr. Stasch will normally see you within 48 hours after the surgery, and then for your follow-up appointments at regular dressing clinics every 2-3 days.

Stitches are removed 5-7 days after surgery, at which point your post-operative photographs will be taken. Bruising and swelling will continue to decrease after stitches are removed. Sunglasses and protective sun block are recommended.

The recovery from surgery will be marked by swelling and bruising initially, which will slowly decrease over the course of 2 weeks, at which time most of the bruising will have disappeared. We recommend the use of Arnica or Heparin-cream to speed up the recovery for bruising. Mild swelling will slowly subside, and can last for up to 3 months. After this time, the final result will be apparent.

Whilst these operations are generally safe in the hands of a qualified and experienced plastic surgeon and regarded to be highly successful, there are, as with any operation, risks involved and the possibility of complications that patients need to consider.

As with any surgical procedure, complications such as infection, bleeding, wound separation, or asymmetry can occur. More specific for this operation are suture cysts (milia), insufficient or excess skin removal, hollowed appearance eyes, scarring, damage to the eyeball surface, or double vision. We will discuss these issues in detail during the consultation.

Smokers are strongly advised to discontinue smoking several weeks prior to surgery and after the operation, as smoking increases the risks of complications and delays wound healing by altering blood circulation in the skin. You can reduce your risks of complications by closely following our instructions before and after the surgery.