• Sutures from the eyelids and donor site are typically removed on the fourth day after surgery, after which time it is safe to travel by air. The scars will fade slowly for up to a year.
• At first, the eyes tend to appear puffy due to surgical swelling and bruising, most of which disappears within several weeks. Deeper inflammation within the healing graft and surrounding tissues resolves much more slowly.
• With surgery on the upper lids, it may be difficult to open one or both eyes fully during the first two to three weeks. In some patients, such droopiness may remain noticeable for several months or longer.
• Contact lens wear may be resumed in 1-2 weeks.
• Even though still slightly swollen, most people feel comfortable about returning to work in about two weeks.
• For patients residing far away, long-term follow-up can generally be accomplished via phone and online communication with digital photos.
• With respect to added volume, most patients have advised us that they reached an essentially stable state by around three months. More subtle changes can be experienced for up to a year.
• A reasonable goal is to achieve a noticeable improvement. As with all delicate cosmetic surgery (and especially those operations undertaken to correct unsatisfactory previous results), final outcomes are seldom perfect or near-perfect.