Precautions after blepharoplasty

In chronological order after surgery, the following post-operative eyelid precautions should be strictly observed to avoid complications such as subcutaneous hematoma, wound infection, and delayed wound healing, which are often accompanied by the growth of post-operative skin scar tissue. 1. Immediately after surgery, the wound will be dressed with gauze. Please follow the technique demonstrated by the surgeon to apply pressure to the vertical eyelid wound repeatedly, i.e., compression for 1 minute, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat the cycle for 20 minutes, the purpose of compression is to stop bleeding. The purpose of compression is to stop bleeding. 2. After compression, the wound will generally not bleed and you can leave the hospital. 3. The inner surface of the wrapped gauze is sterile and cannot be touched by hand. It cannot be removed on the day of surgery (if the gauze is removed on the same day it is likely that the wound will become infected). Any movement that pulls on the eyelid wound on the day of surgery may cause the wound to bleed again (e.g., forcefully opening and closing the eyelid, laughing, holding your breath, etc.). Continue to apply pressure for a few minutes if you notice any further bleeding. Do not drink a lot of water that night and sleep on your back with your head slightly elevated to prevent high eyelid swelling the next day. 4. The gauze should be removed only the morning after surgery and the eyelid wound should not be touched with water for 7 days after surgery. The eyelid wound should be wiped with alcohol cotton balls every day for 7 days to clean the wound, and the cotton balls should be moderately squeezed dry to avoid alcohol penetration into the wound or eye, which can cause irritation. For the wound can also be soaked with eye drops (such as chloramphenicol eye solution) of cotton swabs wipe. 5. For 7 days after surgery, please maintain a normal routine and do not over-sleep to reduce eye swelling. Do not use your eyes excessively either. 6.Please do not apply cold compresses and hot compresses to the local wound after surgery to avoid wound contamination. Avoid spicy and stimulating food as much as possible in your diet, and generally do not need oral antibiotics, intravenous rehydration or pain medication except for doctor’s instructions. Anti-inflammatory and decongestant drugs alone can be taken orally as appropriate, such as Yunnan Baiyao. 7. 3 days to 2 weeks after surgery, both eyes can be opened with more force (do not lift your eyebrows instead of opening your eyes), which is good for reducing swelling and forming a natural heavy eyelid shape. However, if you keep your eyes open, the width of your eyelids will become smaller, so you can adjust the magnitude and time of opening your eyes according to your personal preference. 8. Generally, the eyelids can be touched with water after 7 days after surgery, i.e. when washing the face or taking a bath. 9. To prevent scarring of the wounded skin, scar removal creams such as “Scarke” and “Shu” can be used about 1 month after surgery, but we have not made clinical observations of these drugs, so we are not sure of their efficacy. 10.Please do not rub your eyes with your hands or put on excessive makeup for 3 months after surgery to prevent local skin scar tissue proliferation. 11.The general time of swelling reduction and complete stability after surgery varies greatly among individuals, and the time of swelling reduction generally varies from 5 days to 1 month, and the time of complete stability generally takes at least 3 months. Therefore, the shape of the eyes during this period is excessive, and most people will have problems such as asymmetry of the eyes or lack of smooth lines. For a very small number of people who do have asymmetrical eyes 3 months after surgery, you can see your surgeon again at that time for revision. 12. After blepharoplasty (10-20%), minimally invasive blepharoplasty (1-2%), and open blepharoplasty (0.1-0.5%), the eyelid line may become shallow or disappear, which may appear to be a double eyelid or a trilobate eyelid. This tends to occur in patients who have a good ability to dissolve scar adhesions between the skin and the levator muscle after blepharoplasty, meaning that the scar adhesions artificially caused by the surgeon will easily melt away in this group. In this case, the doctor can be contacted for a simple repair and no new scars will be formed as a result of the repair (except in the case of incisional repair after buried lines or minimally invasive surgery). Poor eye habits after blepharoplasty can also affect the asymmetry or shallowing of the eyelid line, as summarized below: those who blink a lot, those who like to raise their eyebrows, those who have significant asymmetry between their eyebrows, and those who wear a lot of makeup and remove makeup.