How Much Does Eyelid Surgery Cost?

The price of eyelid surgery varies from one country to the other and from one patient to the other. It’s relatively cheap in some countries and ridiculously expensive in other nations. 

When it comes to eyelid surgery, every treatment is tailored to fit the specific requirements of each patient. 

 

This article intends to give you a definite answer regarding the cost of eyelid surgery, but to give context to this subject, let's first discuss what eyelid surgery, who are the ideal candidates is, what happens during and after the procedure and more.

What is Eyelid Surgery?

Eyelid surgery is a cosmetic procedure designed to restore a refreshed appearance to the eyes by trimming off excess fat or skin from either the upper or lower eyelid. In the medical realm, doctors refer to this surgery as a blepharoplasty. 

As we all age, the skin on our eyes tends to lose its elasticity —and it becomes loose or baggy sometimes.  The surgery combats all the eyelid frustrations that come with aging. 

Despite being primarily regarded as cosmetic surgery, Blepharoplasty can also be performed for medical reasons. And it can be done along with other facial procedures such as laser resurfacing, forehead lifts as well as filler injections.

Two techniques are used to perform Blepharoplasty. The first technique focuses on the upper eyelid, whereas the second one is for the lower eyelid. So, eyelid surgery is a broad term that can either be used to a lower or upper eyelid surgery.

Who are suitable candidates for eyelid surgery?

In today’s world, most facial surgeries are hugely associated with women than they are with men. But when it comes to eyelid surgery, it is a procedure that knows no gender. Men can enjoy the benefits of Blepharoplastyand still maintain their masculinity. 

As long as one wants to rejuvenate their facial appearance or has facial frustrations — wrinkled eyes, sagging or loose upper eyelid skin, excess skin or fat on the lower eyelids — he or she can qualify as an ideal candidate for Blepharoplasty.

Although Blepharoplasty is usually sought by people seeking to combat facial frustrations that come with aging, it can also be performed as a medical surgery to younger people who have an affected vision.

What happens during and after the surgery?

To complete this whole surgery, experienced surgeons usually require 60 minutes. However, patients are closely monitored for about two to three hours after the surgery, and then they are discharged. To give total satisfying results, surgeons usually perform both lower and upper Blepharoplasty in unison —and this usually requires general anesthesia. Suppose that the surgeon is only performing one of the two, then the patient will only be given local anesthesia.

General anesthesia is a medically induced sleep that helps the patient not to feel any sort of pain during the procedure. But with local anesthesia, the patient will be awake, and the area where the operation is done will be numbed so as to help prevent pain.

Just before the surgery, your surgeon will mark your eyelids so as to identify the exact area to make the incisions. As this happens, the chances are that you will be sitting up so that the surgeon will have a vivid view of your eyelids.

So here is a brief description of the surgery plays out:  

• Upper eyelid surgery 

Your surgeon will separate your skin from the underlying tissue by making incisions in the natural creases of the eyelid. Fat or excess skin will then be removed through these cuts. After this, those cuts are stitched up. An experienced surgeon takes extra caution when making incisions to avoid scarring.

• Lower eyelid surgery

Unlike the upper Blepharoplasty, there are quite a number of surgical approaches that can be taken during the lower eyelid procedure. The approach taken is determined by the anatomy of the patient as well as the desired goals. 

Incisions may be made inside the lower eyelid or along the eyelid's lash line. Through these incisions, excess fat or loose skin will be removed. Once this is done, your doctor will either sew or suture the skin together in a way that leads to the desired results. If need be, your surgeon may also advise you to have fat grafting to avoid you becoming hollow-eyed.

Some patients may be required to wear dark sunglasses for two days after the surgery. This is done to protect the eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. 

Does this surgery change the vision?

Post-surgery, you are more likely to have a blurry vision due to temporary swelling. The swelling will only last for about two or three days. Complete recovery takes between two to four weeks. 

Besides giving you a more youthful facial appearance, one of the major benefits of Blepharoplasty is that it helps improve your vision. These results tend to last for a lifetime for some individuals. But for others, additional surgery may be required after a few years.

How much does it cost? (Compare other European countries and Turkey)

The eyelid surgery cost in Turkey comes at different prices —the cheapest price of Blepharoplasty may be tagged at €1,190 while the most expensive price can be €2,570. The same cannot be said of other European countries such as the United Kingdom, where the same surgery costs between £2,000 and £6,000. In the US, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of Blepharoplasty is $3,026.  

This content is created and published by Flymedi Medical Editors on July 1, 2019.