What are the risks of blepharoplasty / eyelid surgery?

All surgical procedures come with a small amount of risk. Advances in medical science and technology mean that surgery is very safe and complications do tend to be rare. However, they can happen.

There are complications which are common to all forms types of surgery and these are:

• Excessive bleeding
• Infection
• Scarring or the formation of ‘keloids’ (raised, angry looking scars)
• Adverse reaction to the anaesthetic
• Blood clots

These can happen with any surgical procedure.

Then there are complications which are specific to blepharoplasty. These include:

• Temporary swelling at the corners of the eyes, near the incisions.
• Unbalanced healing: this is where one side heals quicker than the other.
• Acne
• Haematoma: a blood clot can form behind the eyeball. However, this is very rare.
• Ptosis: this is the name given to the condition in which the eyelid droops quite significantly. This condition can be ‘over treated’.
• Loss of eyelashes: this is another rare occurrence.
• Blurred vision: this is a temporary problem only. It is due to the skin and fat around the eyes and not the eyes themselves.
• Loss of skin over the eyelid: this is very rare. It may heal on its own but in a few cases a skin graft will be required.

You may experience pain after the surgery but you will be given pain relief to control this.

These complications as well as the benefits will have been discussed with you by your surgeon at the original consultation.