Eyelid Surgery

[00:00:00.000] After I did have the surgery, that was the beginning of, okay, wow. [00:00:05.440] My eyes, I really look different. [00:00:17.080] When patients first come in, [00:00:18.280] they come in because they have droopy eyelids [00:00:21.840] and they see Dr. Justo. [00:00:23.920] If he recommends doing the eyelid surgery, [00:00:26.560] I do the preliminary testing. [00:00:28.320] Visual field is a test that tests your peripheral vision. [00:00:33.400] Patients who have droopy eyelids often won't see so purely like above. [00:00:37.880] Now blepharoplasty is a very, very common procedure, [00:00:41.720] and I've performed 15 or maybe even 20,000 by now. [00:00:46.840] I've lost track over the years. [00:00:48.480] I started performing blepharoplasty [00:00:51.080] back in my residency training in the 1980s, [00:00:54.440] but once beginning private practice in 1989, [00:00:58.040] I was one of the early adopters of the CO2 or carbon dioxide laser. [00:01:04.000] This has been a phenomenal benefit. [00:01:06.240] It makes the procedure so much smoother, [00:01:09.080] far less bleeding, and very comfortable for the patient and surgeon alike. [00:01:14.520] I had concerns about my eyelids. [00:01:18.320] I felt like they were drooping [00:01:20.720] and I had a lot of difficulty with my makeup [00:01:23.680] and I felt like that it was starting to affect [00:01:26.920] my peripheral vision a little bit. [00:01:29.680] I educate patients on their preoperative and postoperative instructions [00:01:34.400] for the eyelid surgery, [00:01:35.760] so they feel comfortable when they go into the surgery. [00:01:38.840] I can't imagine not having it now that I had the eyelid surgery. [00:01:43.160] I can't imagine life before that anymore. [00:01:46.880] I mustered up the courage to come on in [00:01:50.080] and go through the door, and I'm glad I did. [00:01:52.880] I'm glad I had the surgery. [00:01:54.240] It has been great. [00:01:56.640] The experience was great. [00:01:58.600] The confidence level after that has been wonderful. [00:02:03.160] I feel better about myself. [00:02:07.240] In upper lid blepharoplasty, [00:02:08.640] the majority of our patients are done strictly under local anesthesia [00:02:14.080] with or without a little touch of oral valium to take the edge off. [00:02:18.840] Yes, there's the occasional patient who confides in us [00:02:22.360] that they're extra nervous or anxious, [00:02:24.800] in which case we're happy to plan the procedure with a little bit [00:02:29.120] of intravenous sedation administered by our anesthetist. [00:02:32.800] Upper lid blepharoplasty is a very gentle and quick procedure. [00:02:37.920] Operative time taking only between 20-25 minutes. [00:02:42.120] Once the redundant skin and fatty tissue is removed, then there's a little stitch [00:02:46.720] or suture on the upper eyelid crease, which we'll take out the following week. [00:02:51.920] The surgery, it was just miraculous because within, [00:02:57.840] I think, the day that I had surgery, and obviously you're a bit swollen, [00:03:02.440] but not overly so, I could tell the difference [00:03:06.040] when my husband was driving home, that I could really... [00:03:09.760] Things opened up. [00:03:11.800] It wasn't like looking through tunnel vision. [00:03:14.680] Now, functional benefits of upper eyelid blepharoplasty are many, [00:03:18.400] including: increased peripheral vision, [00:03:21.520] less tiredness, headaches or brow aches from heavy lids, better vision overall. [00:03:27.800] Of course, the most obvious is the esthetic enhancement [00:03:31.320] from not looking so tired. [00:03:33.400] After the surgery, patients will come in [00:03:37.080] and I will take their sutures out about nine days after the surgery. [00:03:41.280] That's the day that is the most rewarding to me because I get to see [00:03:44.920] how everyone looks and hear how happy everyone is with the results. [00:03:50.080] It made a huge difference. [00:03:51.520] I recommend it. [00:03:53.040] In fact, when I was in here having my stitches out, one of my neighbors [00:03:57.480] who I mentioned the surgery to, had had the surgery two days after me. [00:04:02.120] He and I were checking out at the desk [00:04:04.200] talking about, "Hey, we can see. This is really amazing." [00:04:08.720] Lower lid blepharoplasty, in our practice, I always perform under IV sedation. [00:04:16.440] With lower eyelid blepharoplasty, [00:04:18.800] I make an internal incision on the inside of the lid using the laser. [00:04:23.920] That internal incision, because that is a mucus membrane [00:04:27.560] and it's not skin, it does not require any sutures. [00:04:31.760] The healing is very, very quick [00:04:33.960] and generally speaking, has very, very little bruising associated with it. [00:04:39.680] Once we remove the fat pockets [00:04:41.320] on the lower lid blepharoplasty, in many cases, but not all, [00:04:45.800] in many cases, I will do a light laser peel around the eyelids [00:04:50.440] for a little extra rejuvenation and a little texturization of the skin. [00:04:55.120] Thank you for your attention. [00:04:56.440] I look forward to seeing you soon.