Male Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)

Before you undergo any cosmetic surgery procedure at Karidis Clinic, you will have a consultation and a pre-operative assessment with your plastic surgeon. They will listen carefully to your concerns and what you expect to achieve and discuss which procedure, or combination of procedures, is appropriate.

At this stage, they will also ensure you are fully aware of the potential risks and complications inherent in that specific procedure and explain to you what you can expect immediately after surgery, throughout the recovery process, and when you will likely see the final results.

During the pre-operative assessment, the surgeon may take measurements of the area to be operated on and assess your skin tissue quality and the degree of skin laxity. The position of the incisions will also be decided upon.

A full medical history will be taken to ensure you are fit and well and can undergo surgery at this time.

After the initial consultation, there will be a two-week ‘cooling-off’ period before you can decide to proceed with surgery. You are welcome to return for further consultations with your Karidis Clinic surgeon, free of charge, if you have more questions.

If you make the decision to proceed with surgery, you’ll be given advice on how best to prepare for your operation, and you will have a dedicated Patient Coordinator who can answer any queries you may have.

Any pre-surgery tests can occur at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth, a leading London private hospital where Karidis Clinic is based. The hospital has recently built a new wing including a diagnostic department with the latest X-ray, MRI, CT and ultrasound technology.

We advise patients to stop smoking as soon as possible as nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor, which impedes the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the surgical site. This can slow down healing, increase the chance of infection and even cause tissue to die. Smoking also increases the risks of a general anaesthetic, and smokers are more likely to suffer ill effects from an anaesthetic.

You will also be advised when to discontinue taking aspirin or other blood-thinning medication in advance of your operation. You will be asked to fast six hours before surgery.

All Karidis Clinic procedures are performed at the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth. When you arrive, you’ll be greeted and taken to your stylish and luxurious private room with its spacious ensuite bathroom.

The nursing team will take your blood pressure and relevant vitals, and you will see your Karidis Clinic surgeon, who will make the final mark-ups. Our anaesthetist will also visit you.

Clinical photography will be taken to assist in your care and to enable clinical assessments to be made. These become part of your confidential medical record. These include photographs of the operation site and any distinguishing features and will be taken pre-op and post-op. 

Your procedure will be performed under a general anaesthetic, and once the surgeon has sutured the incision site, you will be taken to a specialist recovery room.

Once the hospital nursing team has ensured your recovery is complete, you will be taken to your hospital room for your overnight stay. The hospital nursing team will be on hand throughout the night, and you will be fitted with compression stockings and a compression device if required.

The following day, you will be visited by your Karidis Clinic surgeon or nurse and then discharged into the care of a friend or family member by the hospital nursing staff.

The pain and discomfort experienced after surgery are unique to the individual patient and the extent of their procedure. However, it should start to subside in the first week and should be easily managed with over-the-counter painkillers.

If necessary, you’ll be advised to wear a specially designed surgical support garment for approximately six weeks after surgery to support you during the healing process.

Depending on the nature of your job, you can usually expect to be able to return to work and normal activities between one to two weeks.

You’ll be given a comprehensive plan for the recovery process, including dates for your cast or suture removal and your check-ups with your Karidis Clinic surgeon. However, we are always on hand throughout this period, and you have access to our dedicated surgical nurse 24/7 if you have any concerns.

The benefits of eye surgery include:

✔ A boost in your self-esteem

✔ A refreshed, younger look

✔ Smoothing the wrinkles in the corners of your eyes

✔ An added confidence

✔ Improved vision for some patients (where obstructing excess skin has been removed)

Surgery on your upper eyelids removes excess skin and fat. An incision is made in the natural crease line in your upper eyelids. Sometimes the incision extends to the laughter line area. Once the excess skin and fat have been trimmed, the incisions are closed with very fine sutures.

Surgery on your lower eyelids depends on your circumstance, requirements and preferences. If prominent lower eye bags with loose skin need correcting, you’ll have a transconjunctival blepharoplasty.

During this procedure, an incision is made underneath your eyelashes and extends around 1 cm outwards to the laughter line area. The skin is then lifted upwards and outwards to create tension, and the overlapping skin is removed.

Plan to take it easy for a week after the surgery. For the first 4-5 days, most patients will want to rest at home – with two swollen black eyes and surrounding bruising, your appearance will be alarming to others, but rest assured, the bruising and swelling will disappear completely over the coming weeks.

Lower eyelid surgery will take longer to recover from than upper eyelid surgery. You should, however, be able to read or watch television reasonably comfortably after 2-3 days. Contact lenses should be avoided for 2-3 weeks, and even then, may feel uncomfortable for a while.

With upper eyelid surgery, you should be able to return to work after 5-7 days. As stated above, lower eyelids take more time to settle, and therefore you probably would need about 10-14 days off work. Everyone is different, some people have needed 3 to 4 weeks of recovery, but they are a minority.

It’s vital that you avoid sport and heavy lifting for the first 3 weeks as these will raise your blood pressure.

There are also many treatments that will complement the results of a blepharoplasty. Radiofrequency can plump and lift, and Wrinkle Smoothing Injections can be used to refine results.

The swelling will be at its most severe immediately following your blepharoplasty. Your skin will feel tight in the eye area, with considerable bruising. You may also experience sticky, gummy eyes and a slight leakage of blood from the incisions for a week or so.

At this initial stage, your eyes can even look a bit uneven and over-pulled in the corners – this is simply the internal stitches pulling as they support the eyelids as they heal.

It may take a couple of weeks before the eye area has settled down. Most of the swelling disappears after the first 10 days. The bruising discolouration may last a bit longer – up to one month in some cases.

This is all perfectly normal. Your eyes will soon heal to reveal your new fresh and youthful look.

Read more about the blepharoplasty recovery timeline.