Eyelid Surgery

Upper and Lower Eyelid Surgery San Diego

San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Abhay Gupta, MD, FACS, offers patients eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, to help them look rested and refreshed. As people age, the effects of gravity and overexposure to sun and pollution can cause dark circles or “bags” to form under eyes. Skin loses volume and elasticity, causing lower eyelids to sag. Aging, exposure to the elements and hereditary factors can also cause upper eyelids to grow heavy and droop. Often, these undesirable effects make people look exhausted, sad or older than their actual age.

Eyes are one of the first facial features that people notice on others. Because a person’s eyes are so important in first impressions, Dr. Gupta provides eyelid surgery to combat the visible toll that age, heredity or the elements take on his patients’ eyes. Eyelid surgery patients seek out Dr. Gupta to help them look younger, and feel happy and ready to take on the world.

It is important to note that Dr. Gupta may also recommend another cosmetic procedure, such as Botox or facelift surgery, in conjunction with eyelid surgery to optimize the aesthetic results.

Suitable Eyelid Surgery Candidates

To be a suitable candidate for eyelid surgery, individuals must be free of any serious eye conditions, have a clean bill of health and not smoke. They should have sensible goals for the outcome of eyelid surgery, and comprehend both the risks and rewards of the procedure.

Suitable eyelid surgery candidates would like Dr. Gupta to: improve the appearance of dark circles under the eyes; remove excess skin and fat from upper and/or lower eyelids; or decrease the look of puffy eyes that some patients have, causing them to appear drained or depressed.

Eyelid Surgery Procedure

Dr. Gupta performs eyelid surgery on an outpatient basis in about two hours, depending on the complexity of the situation, the amount of tissue removed and if the patient is having any additional cosmetic procedures done at this time. Patients can opt to undergo eyelid surgery on the upper eyelids, lower eyelids or both.

Before starting eyelid surgery, a Board Certified Anesthesiologist administers general anesthesia — generally, local anesthesia. If the patient is undergoing eyelid surgery on the upper eyelids, Dr. Gupta addresses this area first. Dr. Gupta first makes an incision on the natural crease of the patient’s top eyelid. He then removes any excess skin, fat and/or muscle in the area before closing the incision with sutures, skin adhesive or surgical tape. Any scar on this incision site should be nearly invisible once it is fully healed.

Next, Dr. Gupta addresses the lower eyelid if necessary. He makes this incision just underneath the bottom eyelashes or just inside the bottom eyelid. The highly precise plastic surgeon then eliminates or repositions any excess skin, fat and/or muscle. Dr. Gupta closes the incision with stitches, skin adhesive or surgical tape.

Dr. Gupta may perform additional cosmetic procedures, such as administering Botox or performing facelift or brow lift, as needed to augment surgical results. This will be discussed with the patient during a consultation.

Recovery

Once the effects of the anesthesia have worn off and patients have been discharged, they can go home with an authorized individual. Patients should leave any bandages in place for as long as instructed by Dr. Gupta. Eyelid surgery patients may notice swelling or bruising in the treated area. These symptoms generally go away within a few weeks. Recovering patients may also feel minor pain or discomfort following surgery. They should apply ice packs and take oral pain medication as directed by Dr. Gupta.

In general, patients should expect to take one to two weeks off from work. They should rest as much as possible and avoid taxing activity. It is also extremely important for patients to protect their eyes with dark sunglasses until their eyes are fully healed. Dr. Gupta will give patients complete care instructions prior to the procedure.

Risks

All surgical procedures carry innate risks. However, eyelid surgery risks are rare, and Dr. Gupta utilizes every safety measure available to minimize surgical complications and risks. With this in mind, rare risks include temporary dry eyes, eye irritation, blurry vision or double vision, excess swelling, eye asymmetry, difficulty blinking, and poor scarring.

Patients can help further decrease risks by carefully adhering to any instructions that Dr. Gupta provides. In addition, recovering eyelid surgery patients should definitely not smoke, and should eat a well-balanced diet.

To hear more about eyelid surgery or to schedule a private consultation with Dr. Gupta, please contact Gupta Plastic Surgery by calling (858) 408-6100.

​​​​​​​Please Note: To respect my patients’ privacy and confidentiality, I have chosen not to display any of my cosmetic facial surgery patients’ pre- and post-op photos on the Internet. This includes Botox and injectable filler procedures. These photos are available for private viewing in my office during your consultation. I apologize for any inconvenience.