Eyelid Surgery Recovery
by Dr Chris Thiagarajah on 02/09/12
I thought this would be good time to go over the basics for eye surgery recovery. These are some helpful tips to improve the recovery period and help patients get back to normal faster.
1. Arnica Montana and Bromelain - these two herbal medicines have been shown to reduce bruising and swelling. You need to take them 1 week before surgery and continnue through the recovery period
2. Icing - Icing in the first 48 hours is proven to reduce bruising and swelling. I have patients use a bag of peas while they are awake. They use it for 20 minutes on and then keep it off. You don't want to ice continuously because that can cut off the blood supply to your eyelids and impair healing
3. Sleep with head elevated - Keeping your head above your heart allows fluid to drain away from your head and eyes.
4. No exercise or bending or straining- Straining or exercise can increase the risk of bleeding behind the eye and vision loss. You definitely want to avoid doing that for the first week after surgery.
5. Patience - Having patience after surgery is probably the most important thing. Recovery will take several weeks to months. It is important to not get frustrated or believe that the surgery was a "success" or "failure" by looking in the first couple weeks.
Hope these tips help patients who are recovering from eyelid and facial surgery.
- Dr T
Chris Thiagarajah is an eyelid specialist in the Washington DC metro area. He sees patients in Riverdale, Leanordtown, Bethesda Maryland along with Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center. His specialty is blepharoplasty and cosmetic eye surgery but also performs reconstructive eyelid procedures.
