Healing time after Asian eyelid surgery
Posted by Edward Kwak on Mon, Dec 05, 2011 @ 11:15 AM
One of the most common questions I get during an Asian eyelid surgery consultation is "How much swelling am I going to have?" This is a good question and I would expect every patient to be curious about what he/she will look like during the healing process. Prospective patients need to plan their work and social schedules accordingly around this procedure and having an idea of the healing process can help them with this. Although the healing process along with the amount of swelling can vary greatly between patient, I explain to patients that immediately after surgery you can expect significant swelling and your eyelid crease is going to look much thicker than the final outcome.
These photos show the average amount of swelling one can have immediately after Asian double eyelid surgery using an incisional method. The last photo is taken 3 months after surgery. As you can see the amount of swelling immediately after surgery is pretty noticable, however this is expected with this type of surgery. We provide our patients with detailed postoperative instructions which optimizes the healing process. On the fifth-sixth day after the procedure, patients return to our office to remove stitches. By this visit, there is less swelling. The first month the swelling subsides rapidly with about 80-90% of the healing occuring during the first month after surgery. The last 10-20% however can take up to 3-6 months to heal.
