What to Expect from Plastic Eye Surgery

Plastic eye surgery — as well as other types of cosmetic plastic surgery — corrects flaws that affect the way you feel about yourself. The enhanced looks that plastic eye surgery offers are aimed at adding to your self-confidence.

During surgery, small incisions are made around the eye with the goal of removing extra fat and muscle to create a firmer, younger-looking eye area. Using the skin's natural folds for the incisions minimizes scarring. Only fine stitches are used for plastic eye surgery.

When plastic eye surgery involves the lower eyelid, incisions are made along the line of the eyelashes and smile creases.

An unnaturally puffy eyelid can be corrected through transconjunctival blepharoplasty, by which excess fat is trimmed. In this procedure, the incision is made inside the lower eyelid. The stitches used in transconjunctival blepharoplasty cannot be seen by the naked eye and dissolve by themselves leaving no scar. This procedure can take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.

Limits of Plastic Eye Surgery

This type of surgery does not remove fine lines and crow's feet. A separate, skin surface treatment that can enhance your skin's elasticity is an added option.

Unless plastic eye surgery involves a brow lift, it will not help the appearance of a sagging brow. Nor will it eliminate dark circles from under your eyes (for which topical applications exist in the market).

Your plastic surgeon will probably suggest added procedures to enhance your overall look.

Safety Issues

Serious complications from plastic eye surgery are rare. However, the occasional infection or allergic reaction to anesthetics has been known to happen. But the chances of this taking place are drastically minimized by pre-op examination of the patient's medical history, current medication, and preexisting allergies.

Some patients have been known to experience difficulty in closing their eyes, which condition is however generally not permanent.

Bruising, swelling, and redness are typical side effects of any type of plastic surgery, but none of these are permanent and will usually disappear within 10 days.

Plastic eye surgery is more risky for people certain conditions, such as:
Diabetes
Glaucoma and other eye diseases
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Hypothyroidism

Prices

For plastic eye surgery involving the upper eyelid, surgeons may charge in the area of $1,800 to $2,000. For procedures involving the upper and lower eyelids, prices may go as high as $4,500, or more depending on additional costs of anesthetics, medicine, facilities, staff, etc.

Health insurance does not usually cover any kind of cosmetic surgery. However, if plastic eye surgery is done to improve vision (as in the case where the area over the eye droops down to obstruct vision), then your expenses may be reimbursed in whole or in part.