5 Eyelid Surgery Recovery Tips
Eyelid surgery is a little unlike other plastic surgeries, mainly because of its recovery period. Whereas for most procedures, recovery involves relaxing and watching TV, a blepharoplasty recovery is a tad more challenging in that you can’t really do that — or fix your eyes on anything for that matter, at least not for long. The good news is that blepharoplasty recovery is over in about a week.
If you are considering eyelid surgery, or if you have one scheduled for the near future, here are some eyelid surgery recovery tips you’ll want to be aware of before your surgery.
Eyelid Surgery Recovery Tips
1. Use Cold Compresses And Pillows
After an eyelid surgery or a blepharoplasty, it’s likely that there will be some swelling across the incision and around the upper and lower eyelids. To reduce swelling, patients are encouraged to hold a cold compress over their eyelids, as needed, for 2 to 3 days after the procedure.
You will also want to make sure to keep your head elevated for at least a week after the procedure. Make sure to always stuff plenty of pillows behind your back and neck. This will also help with swelling and healing.
2. Take A Week Off Of Work
Although recovery times tend to vary from patient to patient, typically it takes most patients about 5 days to return to work. When you should return to work can also depend on what you do, since you shouldn’t do any activities that strain your eyes, like staring at a computer all day. Before you get eyelid surgery, be sure to speak to your surgeon about your line of work and determine how long it will be before you can start working again.
3. Protect Your Eyes And Keep Them Clean
Your surgeon should send you home with ointment to help keep your eyes moist and clean, and also with instructions on how to wash them. Follow these instructions very carefully. Aside from keeping them clean, you also want to do everything possible to protect your eyes. Make sure to wear dark sunglasses or special eyewear whenever you go out to keep the dirt and glaring sunlight out of your eyes. You may also need to wear a special eye mask throughout the night to make sure that you do not rub your eyes while sleeping.
4. Give Your Eyes A Break
Typically, our surgery recovery tips include things like reading a book or catching up on your favorite Netflix show, but when it comes to a blepharoplasty surgery you actually want to avoid doing either of those things during the recovery process, as well as going on the computer. In fact, you’ll want to avoid any activity that makes you keep your eyes focused at all! Pro Tip: Close your eyes, sip on some coffee or tea, and listen to the audiobook version of a book or a podcast that you love!
5. Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
The simplest tip we can offer is also the most important one! During your recovery period make sure to follow your doctor’s orders to the dot! Plastic surgeries, even simple ones, require attentive after-care in order to heal as well as possible and give you the best results, too!
More Information
If you have recently undergone eyelid surgery, or if you are about to, we hope these tips can help get you through your recovery period a little easier. If you are considering blepharoplasty surgery for yourself, or if you want to learn more about eyelid surgery, feel free to contact us or to book a consultation with our board-certified plastic surgeon in Orlando, Dr. Z.