Indications: Hooded upper eyelids
Anesthesia: Twilight (local is possible for select patients)
Surgery Type: Outpatient
Surgery time: 1 hour (often less)
Downtime: 1.5-2 weeks
Removal of Stitches: 10 days
Technique: Removal of excess skin and/or fat of the upper eyelid via an incision hidden in the upper eyelid crease
Complementary Procedures: Browlift surgery can be helpful for patients that have hooding caused by low-set eyebrows
Cost: The cost depends on your particular anatomy, whether the surgery is a revision or primary, and whether there are special considerations for your case. To get a quote, you can contact us to set up a free consultation with Dr. Bovenzi Phone: 303-741-2211 Email: info@smithcosmeticsurgery.com
Upper Eyelid Surgery, also known as Upper Blepharoplasty is a procedure to rejuvenate your upper eyelid appearance. With aging, the upper eyelid skin can sag, causing a tired, hooded appearance. Fortunately, there is a safe and effective way to remove this excess upper eyelid skin with an upper blepharoplasty (upper eyelid lift). With an upper blepharoplasty, the excess skin is removed, leaving a sharp and youthful upper eyelid crease. This procedure is done by our expert Denver facial plastic surgeons Dr. Brent Smith and Dr. Cory Bovenzi. They are experts in this area and use incredibly meticulous suturing techniques so your incisions heal beautifully. In fact, after healing, it is hard to even find these incisions because they heal so well in your natural existing eyelid crease.
This surgery removes the excess skin from the upper eyelid area and can also remove extra fat in certain cases where that is needed. Commonly, if extra fat needs to be removed this comes from the medial aspect of your eyelid (closer to your nose). Fortunately, whether or not you need fat removed you will have the same well-hidden incision.
Any time a patient has signs of aging of the upper eyelid, it is important before choosing your surgery to meet with a facial plastic surgeon in consultation. Aging of the area around the eyes can be due to the eyelid skin, eyelid fat, descent of the brow, or a combination of the above. In fact, many patients who are candidates for upper blepharoplasty are also candidates for browlift surgery, which can be done at the same time. Some signs that browlift surgery may be helpful is if you have heavy tissue over your eye that is more lateral (towards the side of the head as opposed to the center). This lateral eyelid hooding is commonly caused by sagging of the brow. Please see our browlift page to learn more about this procedure.
Upper eyelid surgery is a relatively quick and easy procedure. The surgery itself typically takes less than an hour, but results in long-term results (which often last 10+ years). It is not very painful, and most people only take Tylenol, if anything, to help with minor discomfort.1 The healing from upper blepharoplasty takes about 1.5 to 2 weeks, since that is how long it takes for the majority of the swelling to calm down. If you develop any bruising, it usually resolves within this same timeframe. Your sutures are removed 10 days after surgery. We recommend patients continue to be careful not to rub their eyes, etc. after the sutures come out as the incisions are still healing.
The results from upper eyelid surgery can be dramatic and with comparatively little pain and downtime, it is a very common facial plastic surgery amongst those patients starting to notice signs of facial aging. If you would like a free consultation to learn more and see if you are a candidate for upper blepharoplasty, please contact us to set up your complimentary consultation with Dr. Smith or Dr. Bovenzi.
1 Nwagu, Uche & Bovenzi, Cory & Sagheer, S. & Yan, Brian & Krein, Howard & Heffelfinger, Ryan. (2020). Opioid Prescribing Practices for Postoperative Patients in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 10.13140/RG.2.2.14791.47526.
