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Hello.
I'm Dr. Matheson Harris with Utah Oculoplastic Consultants
in Salt Lake City.
I specialize in surgery to eyelids, forehead and brows,
eye sockets and the tear drainage system.
Thanks for choosing our office for your surgery.
There are various reasons why people need eyelid surgery,
including droopy upper or lower eyelids blocking vision
or causing tearing, lower eyelid bags which are
cosmetically unacceptable, and eyelids that have rolled in or
out, causing eye discomfort.
Many people also have drooping eyebrows or foreheads, which
can also bought their vision.
These conditions can all affect your quality of life,
making reading, driving, and watching TV difficult.
They may also cause your eyes to water and make you feel
more tired.
Whatever the reason, there are a number of procedures we use
to correct these problems.
After your evaluation, I'll discuss which surgery, if any,
may help you.
Here I'd like to explain what happens before, during, and
after your surgery so you're aware of everything you may
experience.
There are several things that you must do prior to surgery
to ensure your surgery goes as smoothly as possible and there
are no delays or unnecessary complications.
First, you'll receive instructions to have a
pre-operative physical exam.
Your primary doctor will ensure you are healthy enough
to receive anesthesia.
You'll also be given a list of medications to
avoid prior to surgery.
Most of these medications thin your blood, such as aspirin,
Warfarin and Plavix, and many other over-the-counter
medicines, and certain supplements like
vitamin E and fish oil.
If you're using any of these medications, let us know so we
can discuss when to stop them and then
restart them after surgery.
Failure to do this can result in unnecessary bruising and
bleeding or could cause a serious bleeding complication.
The night before surgery, you'll be instructed to stop
eating or drinking at midnight.
Eating or drinking on the morning of surgery will result
in cancellation of your surgery.
Take a shower the morning of surgery and don't apply any
make-up to your face.
Dress in comfortable clothes that are easy to take off and
don't wear any jewelry.
When you arrive at the surgery center, you'll be checked in
and asked questions about your health history.
You'll have an IV placed and the anesthesiologist will come
and explain his or her plan for your anesthesia.
Once you are brought into the operating room, you'll be
wrapped in warm blankets and given oxygen to breathe.
You'll have numerous sensors placed on your body to monitor
you during the surgery.
I'll clean your face with alcohol and mark the areas
where I'll make my surgical incisions.
Depending on the type of surgery, you'll either be
awake but sedated or completely asleep.
Either way, we'll help you drift off to sleep while
numbing medicine is injected under the skin.
During the surgery, you'll be kept comfortable.
If at any time you feel discomfort, you can let me and
the anesthesiologist know and we'll give you whatever you
need to be more comfortable.
During the surgery, we may ask you to open your eyes and look
up and down.
This will help us to attain symmetry with your eyelids.
Immediately after your surgery, you'll be taken to a
recovery room.
In most cases, you'll have ointment placed on your
incisions and ice placed over your eyes.
It's rarely necessary to patch the eyes closed.
And in most cases, you'll be ready to leave the surgery
center within 30 to 60 minutes after your surgery.
You'll need to have a friend or family
member drive you home.
In the days and weeks following surgery, there are
many things you can do to aid in your healing.
Using ice for 20 minutes on and off for the first 48 hours
will greatly reduce your swelling.
Apply ointment as directed on the day of surgery to keep any
absorbable sutures moist and allow the
incisions to heal quicker.
You'll be given medicine for pain control.
In most cases, pain is mild and only lasts the
first day or two.
You'll want to avoid any vigorous physical activity in
the first one to two weeks, which can worsen swelling and
cause the stitches to open up.
Sleeping with the head elevated the first few days
can also reduce swelling.
You may shower the day after surgery, but should avoid any
pulling or rubbing of the skin.
Use a towel to pat the surgical areas dry.
Do not rub them.
Avoid excessive cleaning of the surgical areas as this can
lead to suture breakage prematurely.
Complications are always possible with any surgery and
knowing how to deal with them is important.
Many people experience oozing or mild bleeding from their
incisions in the first few days after
surgery and this is normal.
Holding direct pressure over a bleeding area for several
minutes will nearly always make it stop.
If bleeding persists despite several minutes of direct
pressure, notify our office.
Sutures are thin and delicate and can break, sometimes for
no apparent reason.
If your sutures break and your wound appears to be opening
up, let our office knows.
Infections are also rare in these types of
surgeries, but can occur.
Using the ointment as directed and avoiding touching the
wounds is the best way to avoid infection.
If the wounds become red, painful, or there's a cloudy,
smelly discharge, notify our office.
During the first week after surgery, you can expect to
look pretty rough.
You'll have some significant swelling and bruising and you
may not feel comfortable in public without some
sunglasses.
Swelling tends to be worse over the first one to two
days, then slowly reduces day to day.
Most swelling is gone within three weeks.
But in some patients, this can last more weeks.
Bruising generally clears up by two weeks.
We usually see patients back after a week and then another
six weeks to ensure they have healed well and are happy with
their outcome.
Just a few words on insurance considerations.
In most cases, insurance, including Medicare, pays for
eyelids and brow surgery.
In these cases, we must demonstrate how the eyelids
are limiting your vision, which we do with a visual
field test.
We'll also take photographs, which your insurance company
will require to authorize your surgery.
Preauthorization takes around three weeks.
We generally schedule you at least three weeks from your
visit to ensure that the preauthorization process will
be completed by then.
Cosmetic procedures are not covered by insurance.
In many cases, however, we combine cosmetic procedures
with medically necessary surgery so that patients can
recover from both simultaneously.
It's also much cheaper to do the
surgeries at the same time.
Lower eyelid lift to remove bags and tighten the skin is
the most common cosmetic surgery we perform.
I hope this video has been informative.
After your consultation, I'll answer any
questions you might have.
And I and my office staff are available any time by phone if
you have any other questions or concerns.
We look forward to helping you feel and look your best.