subject: What is the One Thing You Have to Tell Your Doctor Before Getting an Eyelid Lift? [print this page] What is the One Thing You Have to Tell Your Doctor Before Getting an Eyelid Lift?
Short Answer-
DRY EYES!
Long Explanation-
If you have dry eyes before your eyelid lift surgery, then you may continue to have dry eyes that remain the same or may actually get worse after your eyelid surgery.
Dry eyes is a common symptom in older patients- the exact type of patient who considers eyelid lift surgery. Right after your operation, because the loose eyelid skin is tightened, your eyeball, or globe, will be even more exposed to the air than usual. This contributes to dry eyes immediately after surgery.
Usually, it takes years for your eyelid skin to slowly loosen and form hooding. This actually helps your eyeballs to retain moisture. Since surgery is fairly fast in comparison to developing loose skin, your eyes may have immediate low-grade irritation and worsening symptoms of dry eyes right after your eyelid lift procedure.
However, if you're prone to dry eyes even with loose eyelid skin covering your eyeball, you may just naturally lack enough tear production to keep your eyeballs moist. You may need a Schirmer's test, which is a special eye test that measures tear production. If you have naturally dry eyes, and get an eyelid lift, you may end up with even more irritation from dry eyes and lack of tear production that is actually worse than before surgery.
There is a solution if you persist in having dry eyes- Restasis, a prescription medicine that combats dry eyes. However, it is much better to know ahead of any eyelid lift surgery that you have dry eyes, because there may be other non-surgical options or eyelid lift modifications to avoid having worsening dry eyes long-term.
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