Alton Ingram

After undergoing eyelid plastic surgery, it is crucial that you minimize your exposure to the sun, especially in the initial stages of your recovery period. The healing process after cosmetic surgery, such as an eyelid procedure or blepharoplasty, involves a series of delicate changes in the body at a cellular level, which can be negatively affected by sun exposure.

Following the surgery, your skin starts rebuilding collagen, a protein essential to wound healing and the restoration of firm and supple skin. However, ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun can break down collagen, interfering with the healing process.

Sun exposure can also worsen post-operative swelling and bruising, which typically peak 2 to 3 days after the procedure. The heat and UV radiation from the sun can increase inflammation and stimulate the production of skin pigment, potentially leading to darker scars.

Fresh, still-healing scars are particularly susceptible to UV light, which can cause them to burn, resulting in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) or hypopigmentation (lightening of the skin). This can lead to darker and more noticeable scarring that could last months or even years.

So, it's strongly recommended that you avoid the sun after surgery, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when UV radiation is at its strongest. If you need to be outside, protect your skin by wearing a wide-brimmed hat and high-SPF sunscreen. Always follow your doctor's specific post-op instructions and contact them if you have any concerns or questions.

In summary, while it might be tempting to enjoy the sunshine after your surgery, it's crucial for the success of your recovery and the quality of your surgical results to limit your sun exposure.

Cheek implants, also known as malar implants, are typically made from a solid, pliable silicone and are designed to enhance the volume or lift in your cheeks, thereby changing the contours and appearance of your face. Cheek implants have increased in popularity, with surgeries increasing by 932% between 2000 and 2020.

However, like all surgical procedures, cheek implants do come with potential risks and complications. Some of these risks include anesthesia risks, bleeding, implant displacement, infection, persistent pain, suboptimal aesthetic result, and the possibility of revisionary surgery among others. In addition to these, there can be potential allergies to tape, sutures, or injected agents, change in skin sensation, and damage to deeper structures such as nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and lungs, which can be temporary or permanent.

The decision to have a cheek augmentation procedure is a personal one and should be made after a careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks. If you're considering cheek implants, it's advisable to discuss all your concerns directly with your cosmetic surgeon. They can provide you with detailed explanations of the procedure, potential risks, and the precautions that are taken to ensure patient safety.

It's not uncommon for patients to observe changes in the appearance of their eyes following a blepharoplasty, and the perception of your eyes appearing smaller could be attributed to several factors.

First, it's important to understand that blepharoplasty is a procedure intended to remove excess skin and fat from the upper and/or lower eyelids. The aim is to alleviate the sagging and drooping that can occur with age, which can obstruct vision and give a tired appearance.

The changes in the structure of your eyelids after the procedure could potentially give the illusion of smaller eyes, especially if you're used to seeing them with the additional skin and fat.

Secondly, swelling is a common post-operative effect of blepharoplasty. This might make your eyes seem smaller initially but should resolve over time as the swelling decreases.

Your perception of smaller eyes might also be a result of canthopexy if it was performed during your procedure. Canthopexy is a technique to tighten the lower eyelid, which could make the eye appear smaller. However, this appearance usually settles over time.

Lastly, it's worth noting that everyone's response to surgery is unique, and personal anatomy, surgical techniques, and healing responses can all affect the final aesthetic outcome. In some cases, if the eyebrows were low pre-surgery and weren't addressed during the procedure, this could also contribute to a smaller eye appearance.

Despite these possible explanations, if you feel concerned about your results, it's important to communicate these feelings with your surgeon. Remember, post-operative healing and final results can take several months to be fully apparent, and it's important to be patient during this time. However, if there's a dramatic change or if you experience any discomfort, please do contact your surgeon or seek a second opinion to ensure everything is progressing as it should.

After your eyelid plastic surgery, it's natural to want to speed up the healing process and see the results as quickly as possible. Here are some recommendations based on advice from experts in the field, which can help accelerate your recovery and ensure the best possible outcome for your surgery:

Prepare for your recovery time: The typical recovery period for eyelid surgery is about 10-14 days. It's beneficial to prepare for this period by addressing any responsibilities beforehand, such as stocking up on food or arranging for someone to help with errands or child care, allowing you to focus on resting.

Follow your post-surgery instructions diligently: After the procedure, it's crucial to adhere strictly to the self-care instructions provided by your surgeon. These often include using cold compresses to reduce swelling, using eye drops to prevent dry eyes, and applying ointment to keep the eyes lubricated. If your incision oozes while it heals, you can dab it gently (don't rub!) with sterile gauze.

Cold compresses: Applying cold compresses, especially within the first 48 hours post-surgery, can significantly decrease swelling and bruising.

Rest and avoid strenuous activities: You should avoid overexerting yourself too quickly after surgery, as this can lead to fluid build-up around the eyes and delay your recovery. Avoid strenuous activities, sports, and lifting heavy objects for at least two weeks after the surgery. However, light walking is beneficial.

Elevate your head: To prevent swelling, sleep with your head elevated on 2-3 pillows for two weeks or as directed by your surgeon.

Avoid direct sunlight: Sun exposure can be harmful to the healing skin, so it's crucial to protect your eyes from sunlight. Use dark sunglasses and avoid exposure to sunlight or tanning beds for up to six weeks after the surgery.

Avoid certain medications: To reduce the risk of excessive bleeding, avoid medications like aspirin or ibuprofen at least 10 days before surgery and up to 7 days after. Instead, you can take paracetamol or a pain reliever prescribed by your doctor.

Be patient: It's normal to experience temporary side effects such as puffy eyelids, red incisions, and swelling that resembles a black eye. However, these symptoms should subside within about two weeks, after which you'll be able to notice the changes from your surgery.

It's always important to remember that each patient's recovery can vary, and it's crucial to keep your surgeon informed of your progress throughout the recovery period. If you have any concerns or if something doesn't seem right, don't hesitate to reach out to your healthcare provider.

Absolutely. The type of surgery that you might want to have depends on exactly what you mean by "a droopy eye" and what is causing the droopiness in your eyes.

Usually in adults the droopiness is caused by excess skin or fat in the upper eyelid. If this is the case, all that we need to do is to remove the excess skin and fat and sew it back up. This is called a blepharoplasty and is the most common facial procedure that I perform. You will need to keep an ice-cold washcloth on your upper face for about two days and should sleep with your head elevated (a recliner is great for this) for about a week, to minimize your swelling. You can be back to work in just a few days.

Sometimes a droopy eye is caused by weakness in the muscle that allows you to open your upper eyelid. Sometimes this is diagnosed and treated during childhood, but some people don't develop this problem until later in life. Fixing this problem is a little more involved, since the muscle may need to be shortened or reinserted into the cartilage at the margin of your eyelid, and at the end of this muscle repair your surgeon will usually remove a little extra skin so you get a two-for-one operation! You'll probably have a little more swelling if you need your muscle repaired, but most people can resume normal activities after a week or so even with the more complex procedure.

That's a great question! But the answer - "yes and no" - isn't as clear as you probably would like.

Lots of the changes that you see after a facelift are permanent: you will have some skin removed that will never grow back; you will have incisions that will leave permanent fine-line scars that are very hard to see (otherwise, who would have a facelift??) but that will never go away completely.

But some of the effects of a facelift - no matter how well is it performed - aren't really "permanent," because as soon as the surgery is over (and you've healed and aren't swollen any more), you will continue to age just like you did before the surgery.


Most of my patients tell me that they look ten to fifteen years younger after a facelift, and fewer than half of patients (not just mine but nationally) decide to have a second face or neck lift after undergoing a full facelift with muscle tightening.

So even though no cosmetic surgery is really "permanent" in the sense that it doesn't change at all, a good facelift will make you look ten to fifteen years younger, this rejuvenation will continue throughout the rest of your life, and you probably won't ever need another facelift. But of course ten to twenty years after your facelift you won't look the same way you did immediately after your surgery.

That's a great question! And there's no easy answer.

In reality, "the results" of any plastic surgery don't last any time at all, because as soon as the surgery is over (and you've healed and aren't swollen any more), you will continue to age just like you did before the surgery.

But that's a terrible answer! Most modern facelifts include lifting and tightening both your skin and the underlying muscle layer (the "SMAS"). This allows your surgeon to treat both the aging of your skin (for example, deep skin wrinkles, fullness in the "jowls", excess skin in the neck) and the loosening of your muscle layer (especially in your lower face and neck) that come with as we age.

Most of my patients tell me that they look ten to fifteen years younger after a facelift, and fewer than half of patients (not just mine but nationally) decide to have a second face or neck lift after undergoing a full (not "mini") facelift with muscle tightening.

So I think that the best answer to your question is that a facelift will make you look ten to fifteen years younger, that this rejuvenation will continue throughout the rest of your life, and that you probably won't ever need another facelift. But that of course ten to twenty years after your facelift you won't look the same way you did immediately after your surgery.

Rhinoplasty is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures, but it's also one of the scariest for some patients. Some people are afraid of having their noses "broken" during the surgery, and some are concerned with having breathing problems during the first few days, when they may have splints or packing inside their noses. Here are a few things to avoid before a rhinoplasty so that your recovery is as smooth as possible!
1. Do not Drink Alcohol during the week before your procedure. Just don't do it. Alcohol will dehydrate you, lower your immune system, and generally impair your recovery.
2. Do not Smoke Cigarettes during the week before your procedure or during your recovery.
3. Do not take Aspirin, ibuprofen, or other blood-thinning medications.
4. Stop using topical creams on your face at least 4 days before your procedure.
5. Avoid prolonged sun exposure before and after your procedure.
6. Do not Eat or Drink anything after midnight the night before your procedure.
7. Don't let anxiety get you down. Many people feel nervous before surgery like Rhinoplasty, and that's absolutely normal. But don't let normal nervousness turn into anxiety.

There is really no "safest" breast implant ... otherwise everyone would use the same one. Mentor and Allergan implants make up the vast majority of breast implants used in the United States these days, though.

When deciding what implant is best for you, the first decision you need to make is saline versus silicone. Everyone is familiar with the controversy years ago when the silicone implants "bled" liquid silicone into the implant capsule and caused higher rates of contracture. The implants currently in use have much lower rupture rates, less "bleeding" of silicone through the shell, and last longer than the implants used way back then. I use Allergan or Mentor silicone gel filled implants for at least 90 percent of my augmentations. But for some patients saline is absolutely the way to go - maybe they have had silicone implants and want to change to saline, or maybe they're just concerned about the safety issues that are reported in the popular press.

Read up on the different implants and talk to your doctor during your consultation to see which implant is best for you. And if your doctor doesn't spend enough time with you to go over all of your questions, get out of there and find someone who has the time for to go over everything you need to discuss, in order to make an informed choice.

Good luck - I hope you have a great experience and result!

It really depends on the person, the size of the implant, and the placement of the implant (above or beneath the pectoralis muscle). But at one week you absolutely should expect some discomfort.

At this stage you're still swollen, and your skin (and possibly your pec muscle) is still stretching.

As long as you consider yourself to be feeling pain, take it as easy as you reasonably can. I don't know when you're seeing your doctor next, but if you are in real pain (and not just discomfort) at ten days, you ought to see him or her within the next few days.

Good luck! I hope you feel better soon!!

Local anesthesia is part of almost every facelift, even when the patient has general anesthesia, because the local anesthetic will contain adrenaline, which cuts down the small amount of bleeding seen in facelifts, and because the local anesthetic will make you feel better for the first few hours after surgery.

When I do facelifts, my patients receive versed and fentanyl at the start of the surgery, undergo the injections, and once they are completely numb we start the surgery. You will be in a "twilight" state during the surgery, and whenever you feel like a little more sedation just ask my CRNA to give it to you.

Sometimes I will ask my patients to turn their heads to the left or the right in order to make it easier to see under the skin flap, and sometimes we even have short conversations, but you won't remember any of this because of the Versed.