Why Eyelid Surgery and/or Browlift
With Eyelid Surgery:
You can correct droopy upper lids and puffy bags under your
eyes that make you look older and more tired than you feel.
If you have Asian eyes, it can add an upper eyelid crease
without erasing evidence of your ethnicity or racial heritage.
If your eyelids are interfering with your vision, eyelid surgery
may make a difference.
Although most patients are 35 or older, if droopy, baggy eyelids
run in your family, you may opt to have eyelid surgery at a
younger age.
A few medical conditions can change the approach that Dr. Steely will take to your eyelid sugery:
Thyroid problems such as hypothyroidism
Graves' disease
Dry eye or lack of sufficient tears
High blood pressure or other circulatory disorders
Cardiovascular disease
Diabetes.
A detached retina
Glaucoma
With Browlift Surgery:
You can smooth furrows or frown lines caused by stress or
muscle activity.
If you have inherited conditions, such as a low, heavy brow or furrowed lines above the nose, you can
achieve a more alert and refreshed look.
If you are male and bald or have a receding hairline, you may still be a good candidate for a forehead lift.
Dr. Steely will simply change the location of the incision or perform a more conservative procedure.
Your Eyelid Surgery and/or Browlift Consultation
For either eyelid surgery or a browlift, Dr. Steely will discuss you goals and evaluate your face, your skin and underlying bone structure. He will review your complete medical including any previous facial surgeries. He will need to know if you have any allergies; if you're taking any vitamins, medications, or other drugs; and if you smoke.
For Eyelid Surgery candidates, Dr. Steely will:
Ask you to provide any relevant information from your ophthalmologist or the record of your most recent
eye exam. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, please bring them along.
Discuss surgery options, such whether the procedure be performed on all four eyelids or just the upper or
lower ones, whether skin as well as fat may be removed, and whether any additional procedures are
appropriate.
For Browlift Surgery candidates, Dr. Steely will:
Evaluate your face, including the skin and underlying bone.
Dr. Steely will give you an aesthetic evaluation that will include recommendations as to which procedure or combination of procedures will best meet your goals.
For each procedure, Dr. Steely will describe in detail the surgical technique he will use, the type of anesthesia, the surgery facility, and the risks and costs involved. Ask Dr. Steely any questions you may have, about your expectations and any concerns about the surgery.
Preparing for your Eyelid and/or Browlift Surgery
Your surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding certain vitamins and medications. Carefully following these instructions will help your surgery go more smoothly.
While you're making preparations, be sure to arrange for someone to drive you home after your surgery, and to help you out for a few days if needed.
Your Eyelid Surgery and/or Browlift
Eyelid Surgery:
Cosmetic surgery of the eyelids varies widely from a simple excision of skin to more complex repositioning of the lids and underlying tissues. In many patients, a simple skin excision can give the patient a rested, more awake look with a minimum of downtime.
More complex eyelid surgery usually takes up to three hours, depending on the extent of the surgery. Typically, Dr. Steely makes incisions following the natural lines of your eyelids: in the creases of your upper lids, and just below the lashes in the lower lids. He may extend the incisions into the crow's feet or laugh lines at the outer corners of your eyes. Working through these incisions, he separates the skin from underlying fatty tissue and muscle, removes excess fat, and often trims sagging skin and muscle. He closes the incisions with very fine sutures.
| If you have a pocket of fat beneath your lower eyelids but don't need any skin removed, Dr. Steely may perform a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. In this procedure, he makes the incision inside your lower eyelid, leaving no visible scar. It is usually performed on younger patients with thicker, more elastic skin. |
Browlift Surgery Options
The endoscopic forehead lift: Typically, an endoscopic forehead lift requires the same preparation steps as the traditional procedure.
However, rather than making one long coronal incision, Dr. Steely will make three, four or five short scalp incisions, each less than an inch in length. He inserts an endoscope (a pencil-like camera device connected to a television monitor) through one of the incisions, allowing him to have a clear view of the muscles and tissues beneath the skin. Using another instrument inserted through a different incision, he lifts the forehead skin and alters the muscles and underlying tissues to produce a smoother appearance. He may lift the eyebrows and secure them into their higher positions by sutures beneath the skin's surface or by temporary fixation devices placed behind the hairline.
For most patients having a classic browlift, Dr. Steely uses a coronal incision that follows a headphone-like pattern, starting at about ear level and running across the top of the forehead and down the other side of the head. He usually makes this incision well behind the hairline so that the scar won't be visible.
If your hairline is high or receding, Dr. Steely will place the incision just at the hairline to avoid adding even more height to the forehead. In patients who are bald or losing hair, a mid-scalp incision that follows the natural pattern of the skull bones is sometimes done. By wearing your hair down on your forehead, most such scars become relatively inconspicuous. Special planning is sometimes necessary for concealing the scar in male patients whose hairstyles will not cover the incision.
If you are bald or have thinning hair, Dr. Steely may recommend a mid-scalp incision so the resulting scar follows the natural junction of two bones in your skull and is less conspicuous.
Working through the incision, Dr. Steely will carefully lift the skin of the forehead so that the underlying tissue can be removed and the muscles of the forehead can be altered or released. He may also elevate the eyebrows and trim excess skin at the incision point to help create a smoother, more youthful appearance.
|
After Your Eyelid Surgery and/or Browlift
After Eyelid Surgery:
The minor complications that occasionally follow eyelid surgery may include:
Blurred vision for a few days.
Temporary swelling at the corner of the eyelids.
A slight asymmetry in healing or scarring.
After a Browlift:
The immediate post-operative experience after the classic forehead lift may differ significantly than that after an endoscopic.
Endoscopic forehead:
You may have some numbness, incision discomfort and mild swelling.
Incision site pain is usually minimal, and easily controlled with medication.
Dr. Steely will remove any stitches or staples within a week and the temporary fixation devices within
two weeks.
Classic forehead:
You may have some numbness and temporary discomfort around the incision, for which Dr. Steely will
prescribe some medication.
If you are prone to headaches, Dr. Steely may use an additional longer-acting local anesthesia during
surgery as a preventive measure.
You should keep your head elevated for two to three days to keep the swelling down.
You may have some swelling in the cheeks and eyes which should start to disappear in a week or so.
You may have some numbness on the top of your scalp after nerves heal that may be replaced by itching;
this may take up to six months to completely disappear.
If bandages were used, Dr, Steely will remove them a day or two after surgery.
Dr. Steely will remove most stitches or clips within two weeks, perhaps in two stages.
Dr. Steely will keep you informed and as comfortable as possible at every step of your eyelid surgery and/or browlift, from consultation to the final new you.
Call 713-622-6500 or email Dr. Steely for a complimentary initial appointment or for more information relating to the eyelid surgery and/or browlift. |
