Blepharoplasty Healing Timeline
Treat any day-by-day schedule for healing after eyelid surgery as general, and let your surgeon's instructions override it. Plan around three things instead: where to read, what to ask, and what to arrange before surgery. A specialty society's eyelid surgery recovery page is a reasonable general reference to start with.
Promises of exact healing days
Be cautious with any website that promises exact days for everyone.
Health factors to raise before surgery
Your general health can matter for how an operation goes, so tell the surgeon about it. A peer-reviewed review on managing smoking, diabetes and other medical risk factors before surgery explains why surgeons ask about these things. Bring your medication list and any condition you manage.
Follow-up visits, restrictions and return to work
Ask these at your consultation, and write down the answers.
- When will I see the surgeon after the operation, and what will they check?
- What should I avoid, and for how long?
- What counts as normal during healing, and what should make me call the office?
- When can I expect to return to work, driving, exercise and wearing makeup?
Where to compare practices
Practices describe their procedures differently. A university department's list of facial plastic surgery procedures shows one way a practice organizes and explains its services. Use it to see what a clear description looks like, then compare it with the practices near Mercer Island that you are considering.
Planning your time away
Arrange your calendar around the dates your surgeon gives you, and leave room for them to change. A hospital system's overview of cosmetic facial surgery procedures can help you place eyelid surgery among the other options before you commit.
Your own surgeon's healing dates first
Collect your healing timeline from your own surgeon, in writing, and treat anything general as a rough guide. Read one reference, list your health questions, and ask the four questions above. For more on candidacy and the operation itself, see the eyelid surgery overview.