My Upper & Lower Blepharoplasty

*warning – this post shares graphic post-op images of my upper and lower blepharoplasty, so please skip if you don’t want to see those images

Hi friend! I hope you are doing amazing! It’s been six weeks since I had my upper & lower blepharoplasty and today I’m sharing the entire process and my before and after results with you.

My Upper & Lower Blepharoplasty

My lower lids especially had been bothering me for several years. I’m 50 years old and try to take good care of myself, but I felt like my sagging and lower eye bags aged me and made me look angry or unhappy, when I actually am quite positive!

I had met with a couple of medical professionals before I decided to go the surgery route to see if something less invasive was an option for me. Everyone explained that fillers or botox weren’t good options around my eyes and could actually make things worse. It’s simply my genetics that give me the bulges under my eyes. One doctor told me to go back and look at old photos from I was a kid and I would see it then, but it’s just much more pronounced now that I’m older.

Ultimately, my optometrist referred me to a cosmetic surgeon (Dr. Sami in Houston) who specializes in eye surgery and that’s where I went for a consultation. Dr. Sami said I was a good candidate for both upper and lower blepharoplasty and that’s who I chose to perform the surgery.

I’m in Houston and the cost for both procedures with conscious sedation was $12,000. There were a few additional costs for things like prescriptions and eye drops, but those costs were minimal. You may also need to factor in time off work as an added expense if you decide to have this surgery.

I have heard that insurance may cover the cost of an upper blepharoplasty if it impairs your vision, so that’s something you could look into.

What is Upper & Lower Blepharoplasty?

Upper blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure that removes excess skin, muscle, and sometimes fat from the upper eyelids. It’s done to correct sagging or hooded eyelids that make the eyes look tired or heavy. The surgeon makes an incision in the natural crease of the upper eyelid, removes or repositions tissue, and closes the incision with fine stitches.

Lower blepharoplasty is a surgery targeting the lower eyelids to reduce puffiness, bags, or wrinkles. It addresses under-eye bags and smooth out wrinkles or sagging skin below the eyes. In the lower bleph, the incision is usually made either just below the lash line or inside the eyelid. Fat may be repositioned or removed, and excess skin tightened.

Below is a photo of me two days before I had the procedure.

Me Before

Although it was my lower eyelids that initially bothered me the most, my upper lids were also getting increasingly saggy, so I figured I might as well have them both done at the same time.

Pre-Surgery Prep

Before surgery, I had a checklist of things to do:

• Begin taking prescribed antibiotics and steroids for about a week
• Make arrangements for someone to accompany me to surgery and drive me home (my fiance Elliott, who was AMAZING throughout!)
• If you regularly take medications, take them the morning of surgery, but ask about blood thinners
• Don’t drink or eat anything 8 hours before surgery
• Bring large sunglasses to wear home
• Wear a button front top to surgery
• Do not wear makeup to surgery
• Take a shower and wash your hair the night before or the morning of the surgery.

Surgery Day

On the day of the procedure, Elliott and I arrived at the doctor’s office around 8 a.m. and I got prepped for surgery. My procedure was done under “conscious sedation” which means I was awake, but sedated. I was aware of what was going on and I could hear the doctor talking, but I couldn’t feel anything and was very relaxed and comfortable, almost loopy.

I think the entire procedure only took about an hour and the doctor remarked that I had barely any bruising immediately after. My eyes were completely blurry and I could not see at all. They put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me to the car and Elliott drove us home.

At no time during the surgery or in the recovery process was I ever in any pain. Uncomfortable, swollen, bruised, tight and numb are better words to describe the post-op experience. But never painful.

The next two photos are from when I arrived home after the procedure.

I was instructed to keep the tape on until it fell off on it’s own, which happened in a few days.

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Post-Op Instructions:

• Use cold compresses as much as possible for the first 48 hours, during waking hours
• For the first 2-3 days, sleep with your head elevated and on your back. Avoid sleeping on your side for 7-10 days to prevent swelling.
• Avoid any exercise, strenuous exertion, bending at the waist or lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds for 2 weeks.
• Use prescription ophthalmic ointment and apply directly on incisions 3x a day for one week (this was the worst because it makes your vision so blurry and very difficult to see)
• The very fine sutures inside the eye dissolve on their own after about a week. (while those stitches were not dissolved, it kind of felt like something was poking my eyes)
• The remaining stitches will be removed in 7-10 days (I was so nervous about this but it was so easy, quick and didn’t hurt at all)
• You can resume wearing makeup on eyelids 2-3 days after stitches are removed, but be very gentle when cleaning makeup off (I still rarely wear eyeshadow)
• You can shower or bath neck down after surgery, avoiding any water on your incision until after the post-op visit. You can gently wash your face with a washcloth if necessary, avoiding the incisions.
• Keep eyes well lubricated with artificial tears, applying 4-6 times a day (I’m still using artificial tears about 4x a day to help with dry eyes).
• Contact lenses should not be worn until 3 weeks after surgery.

Later that day looking very much like a surgical patient. It was weird to me (and a little scary) that my bottom lids were going in a cateye shape. But, thankfully, that has resolved.

Day 2

The redness, swelling and bruising really started showing up on day 2.

For the first 2 days, I basically lived under a bag of peas. I found the frozen bag of peas to fit my face perfectly and it was actually soothing to have them on my lids. I would ice for 30 minutes on and off all day long.

So, 30 minutes with the peas on, take off for 30 minutes, then back on. I had several bags of peas in my freezer for rotation.

The purpose of the cold is to cause blood vessels to constrict, thus decreasing the degree of swelling immediately after surgery.

Day 3

Day 4

Man, four days of recovery doesn’t seem like very long but it felt like forever when your eyes are so tight, swollen and sore.

I could not drive and was very uncomfortable. My eyes were irritated and it was so frustrating not being able to see since I had to keep the ointment in my eyes. Also, while the sutures were still present in my under eye, it felt like something scratchy was in my eye like cotton. The tape started coming off too.

At night, it helped to sleep upright with a few pillows propping me up and using an airplane pillow around my neck for support.

Day 6

Felt really good to finally wash my hair! The yellow bruising under my eyes was improving and I was done with my antibiotics. I was still using the ointment that blurred my vision and that is so annoying!

Hat • Sunglasses • Sports Bra • Shorts • Bag • Sneakers

Was also able to go for a walk with a hat and big sunglasses. I walked early while it wasn’t too hot so I wouldn’t be sweating. It’s advised to not get any UV light on your incisions/scar because that can cause it to not fade.

Day 8 – Post Op Visit

The lower sutures were dissolvable, but I had to go to the doctor to remove the upper stitches and I was SO nervous it would hurt because that area is so tender.

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about because it didn’t hurt at all and was over in just a couple of seconds!

My doctor advised that I was so start “blinking exercises” where I slowly close my eyes for 10 seconds “about a million times a day. This is to help the muscles remember how to close your eyes. I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be able to properly close my eyes with this surgery, but now it makes sense. And that’s also what contributes to the dry eyes, requiring drops and ointment.

I was also still very swollen in my upper lids, but the doctor said it was normal. But, she offered that if the swelling persisted for the next 3 days, I could call the office and get another round of steroids to reduce the swelling.

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Day 10

Well, sure enough, my lids were still very swollen so I did call and get that steroid. I also still had yellow bruising under my eyes and they were watery, especially the right one.

Day 11

And later that day the swelling started to subside, thankfully, it was such a relief!

Day 13

Soooo happy to be able to get back to working out! I took nearly 2 weeks off!

Sports Bra • Shorts

Day 14

And, two weeks post op, I was ready to go on a date night with Elliott. My eyes were still bothering me and I couldn’t wear contacts yet, but we had an awesome time!

Similar Dress Here & Here • Heels • Bag

Day 18

Like I mentioned above, it’s highly recommended to avoid UV exposure, lest you “tattoo” your scar onto your eyelids. Now, everytime I go outside or drive, I wear a sunhat and sunglasses.

Sun Hat • Top

Day 21

Three weeks post-op and things are looking and feeling a lot better!

Initial Necklace

Eye Patches • Top • Romper

One Month Post Op

At one month post-op, I had my next follow up appointment where my doctor assured me things are progressing normally and healing nicely.

The weird thing is that I’m so aware of my eyes and how they feel. They still feel a little tight and numb, but not as bad as at first. Normally, you aren’t so aware of your eyes, they’re just there. My doctor said that acute awareness will go away in time.

She advised me to “massage” the scar by pressing into it for several seconds many times a day for one week. She said that helps break up the scar tissue and helps loosen the tightness.

We also scheduled a laser treatment for the end of October to help lessen the visibility of the scar. I think I go to 2 or 3 of those laser treatments.

I’m also advised to continue using the eyedrops 4 times a day and use a thicker eye gel at night while I’m sleeping to help reduce dry eye and assist recovery.

I took these next photos as screenshots from a video I was recording, but I think they give you a good picture of where my progress was at one-month post op.

6 Weeks Post Op

Necklace • Dress

Overall, I can say that I’m glad I got the procedure done and I think that my eyes look much improved from the before. I no longer have the loose skin on my upper lid and the bags under my eyes are gone.

I feel like I look more awake and less aged than before. But, I also look different and I’m not 100% used to it. Intellectually, I knew I wanted my eyes to look different, but psychologically, it’s weird to accept the change.

Maybe 6 weeks isn’t enough time to fully embrace the change?? And I know I still have more healing ahead of me.

I will also say that the recover wasn’t a piece of cake. Perhaps because I did both upper and lower eyes at the same time, but every video I’ve seen of someone’s recovery process seemed to go much quicker than mine.

I was still SO swollen (especially in the upper lids) at 12 days post-op, which felt like forever. I had to take another round of steroids to get that swelling to subside.

Also, my eyes still feel somewhat tight, numb and a little swollen – although it’s to a much lesser degree now.

I think it will be a full 6 months to truly see the full results. Healing takes time and a lot of patience. I’m also hopeful that the laser procedures will reduce the appearance of the scar. It doesn’t bother me too much since it’s in the crease, but I am still a little self conscious about it.

If there’s anything I left out, or you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to respond.

I also recorded videos of my daily progress if you want a more in-depth review. You can find those on my Instagram (saved to highlight) and YouTube channel.

Thank you!

Y’all have been so encouraging and supportive throughout this entire journey. I really appreciate every kind message and prayer you sent my way. You never know how much a sweet word means to someone, but truly, I have been very touched, especially when sharing something so vulnerable. I’m sending you back so much love and good energy!