Eyelid Surgery Blepharoplasty New jersey
Eyelid Surgery NJ
This procedure can be done on the upper lid, the lower lid or both together. The eyelids are often done with a facelift and or a brow lift. The upper lid is closely related to the brow position and the lower lid to the cheek position.
In combined cases, the brow or the cheeks are done first. This surgery is also highly individualized. There are times when only some skin is removed, and other times when some muscle or fat has to be removed as well. Sometimes, fat is added as a graft or transposed. If the lower lid is lax, it needs tightening (lateral canthopexy /orbicularis muscle suspension). Dr. Rafizadeh has developed a method to eliminate or minimize chemosis, which is one of the complications of these tightening procedures.
The surgery on the eyelids has to be done in consideration of the total facial harmony and proportion in order to look the best. A conservative approach is essential in order to achieve a natural result. Dr. Rafizadeh uses fine non-absorbable sutures that he removes in three to four days. This, in contrast to the absorbable sutures, will produce less reaction and less scarring. The sutures should not be left in for more than five days because they can create tracks under the skin appearing as dots that would need to be surgically removed. Therefore make sure your eyelid sutures are removed in less than five days.
After the surgery, we place iced compresses on the eyes to keep them cool and moist. You will be given the pads and the iced saline before you leave. This draws out any bleeding and helps with the bruising and swelling. The patient is instructed to keep the back elevated the night of the surgery and keep the compresses on.
Blepharoplasty New Jersey
What is a blepharoplasty?
Blepharoplasty or eyelid surgery is the operation that deals with the appearance of the upper and lower lids. It is done to improve the appearance by eliminating the excess skin of the upper lids and improve the baggy appearance of the lower lids. You often have to remove excess skin, some excess muscle, and occasionally some excess fat. The new trends are in conserving the fat and transposing it in the areas of deficiency like the tear trough.
Candidates for this procedure can be as young as 30 years but typically they are in their 50s and more in age and have excess upper lid skin and baggy appearing lower lids. They often appear tired and request the procedure for the improved appearance. There are, also patients who have such excess in the upper eyelid skin that hangs beyond the lid margin and causes some difficulty in their visual field, especially in the upper outer gaze area. Those patients will request the blepharoplasty for medical reasons because they have trouble seeing their sides. The cosmetic improvement that this procedure will give them is a secondary benefit. In these cases when an ophthalmologist measures the visual fields and proves the problem, the insurance might pay for the procedure.
Dr. Rafizadeh performs the operation under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation and it can be done for the 4 lids, meaning the upper and lower lids on both sides. The surgery takes about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. He prefers this type of anesthesia because he can have the patient’s cooperation during the operation. He would ask them, for example, to open their eyes and their mouth while he does the resection of the skin on the lower eyelid to make sure that there is no over-resection.
After giving the local anesthetic, a segment of skin from the upper eyelid is removed in such a way that the closure will place the scar within the crease of the upper lid. This will make the scar very imperceptible. The lower eyelid can be done through the inside of the lid by a trans-conjunctival approach or by an incision that goes underneath the eyelashes. Often, a small amount of fat has to be removed from the orbit to eliminate the bagginess of the lower eyelids. Sometimes the fat is transposed and placed in the tear trough area to improve the appearance of the tear trough and create an auto-augmentation in that area.
Realistic expectations include improvement in the upper and lower eyelid appearance, improvement in the appearance of the eye bags, and improvement in the depression of the tear trough area, even though this area may require the fat transposition which may not be part of a routine blepharoplasty.
Blepharoplasty can be done either on the upper eyelids, or the lower eyelids, or both. There is often an additional procedure called lateral canthopexy which is done to reinforce and support the lower eyelid position and prevent lid retraction in the postoperative period, especially in patients who have prominent eyes and weak bones.
The recovery is fairly quick with sutures being removed about 5 days after surgery. There could be some bruising and swelling that will subside within 10 days or so.
The complications of the procedure are possible lower lid retraction and chemosis which is swelling of the layer that covers the eyeball. This complication is avoided our practice by a special type of canthopexy that Dr. Rafizadeh has pioneered that is designed to avoid this particular complication. Dry eye syndrome is another complication of the procedure that is typically avoided by knowing the degree of tear production of the patient and avoiding doing the upper blepharoplasty or do it very conservatively on patients who have this condition. With good preoperative evaluation and meticulous surgery performed by experienced hands, complications could be avoided or greatly reduced in incidents.
Just like in other cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, the combination of experience, a sense of proportion and harmony can beautify the eyes and avoid the operated look that is produced by less skilled surgeons.
ARNICA MONTANA to reduce bruising.
For years Dr. Rafizadeh was hesitant to offer Arnica Montana to patients for preoperative and postoperative use because he was worried that the product they obtain on their own would have impurities. Now there is a clinically studied product that comes prepackaged, and you can get it in our office. We also give the patients a list of drugs to avoid at least two weeks before surgery.
Eyelid rejuvenation surgery, also known as blepharoplasty or an eye lift, can make you look younger and strip away the appearance of fatigue by trimming the sagging skin on the upper and lower eyelids.
To begin the procedure, sedation or anesthesia is administered. A small guard is placed over the eye to keep it safe while the blepharoplasty is occurring. After skin, fat, and muscles are excised, the eye area looks less tired.
The blepharoplasty procedure is safe and has been proven effective time and time again, so take that next step and speak with Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh. Dr. Rafizadeh is a board-certified plastic surgeon with a great deal of experience. Contact our office to arrange a consultation.