Eyelid Surgery: Cost, Photos, Rewiews, Q&A

Blepharoplasty Be Done Without Anesthesia?

Upper eyelid surgery can often be done safely in the office under local anesthesia without the need for sedation. Lower eyelid surgery can also be done the same way if there is only skin removal.

If prominent fat pads need addressed often sedation is necessary for the patient’s comfort. (Susan D. Vasko, MD, FACS, )

Can blepharoplasty be done without anesthesia

A skin only upper blepharoplasty can be performed under local anesthesia with minimal pain. When removing the 2 fatty compartments on the upper lids and the 3 fatty compartments on the lower lids, it is very painful, therefore for patient safety and comfort we perform blepharoplasty surgery under general anesthesia with a board certified physician anesthesiologist.

For many examples, please see the link below to our eyelid surgery photo gallery (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Can blepharoplasty Be Done Without Anesthesia?

Blepharoplasty and eyelid surgery does require some form of anaesthesia. There are three types of anaesthesia – local, sedative anaesthesia and general anaesthesia.

Local anaesthesia involves injecting numbing medicine at the area to be operated on. Almost all upper blepharoplasty I use local anaesthesia only, when used in combination with oral medications, patients have a very rapid recovery and are able to go home less than thirty minutes after upper blepharoplasty.

Sedative anaesthesia also known as twilight anaesthesia means an anaesthesiologist gives you some medications that make you sleep during the surgery. I generally uses sedation anaesthesia for lower eyelid surgery, which ensures a comfortable experience, as patients have a rapid recovery and go home approximately thirty minutes after the lower blepharoplasty with an escort or chaperone.

General anaesthesia means that the patient is completely unconscious, requires a breathing tube and the recovery is slower taking a minimum of 4-6 hours. For blepharoplasty, general anaesthesia is not usually required unless the blepharoplasty is combined with other techniques including face and necklifting. The ideal choice of anaesthesia does differ for each patient, as depending on your medical history, previous experiences of anaesthesia and allergies, different types of anaesthesia are best suited. (Julian De Silva, MD, London Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Anesthesia for blepharoplasty

Upper blepharoplasty can be done with only local anesthesia (injections to numb the area). I prefer IV anesthesia (twilight) for the lower eyelids. This avoids the increased risk of general anesthesia while optimizing patient comfort and safety. (Angela Sturm, MD, Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Blepharoplasty & Anesthesia

Blepharoplasty can be performed with either local or general anesthesia. It would not be practical to consider any type of eyelid surgery to be performed without some type of anesthesia. (John J. Edney, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

No anesthesia blepharoplasty

I do not believe a routine upper and /or lower blepharoplasty can be done without anesthesia in a normal human being. After 30 years of experience and over 1500 blepharoplasties the minimal anesthesia I use ; and I do it this way for ease, comfort, and safety reasons; is a small amount of oral sedation (valium 5mgs), a small amount of (ambien 10 mgs) and local injections of ( Xylocaine 1% with epinephrine ).

A very simple upper blepharoplasty can be done with nothing more than a little injected (xylocine 1% with epinephrine) and no oral sedation if a patient desires. More aggressive and riskier forms of anesthesia like ( IV sedation or General Inhalation anesthesia)

I have not had the need to use in blepharoplasty surgery for the past twenty years. I would not even consider it today (Richard Galitz, MD, FACS, Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Eyelid surgery can be performed with putting you to sleep. Local anesthesia, just like the dentist uses works extremely well for eyelid surgery.

I usually give my patients Valium ahead of time. It is really not difficult to go through. Really no worse than going to the dentist. (Ronald J. Edelson, MD, Phoenix Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Anesthesia for eyelid surgery

Eyelid surgery can be performed without sedation. However, in my opinion patient have less bruising when they are given sedation at the time of surgery.

Most people have some anxiety about having surgery on their eyes. Without sedation, the anxiety can make your blood pressure go up and down and that can cause more bruising.

Bruising can occur no matter how the surgery is performed. However, less is better.

With less bruising you have less downtime and it is easier for the surgeon to make subtle decisions of exactly how much tissue to remove at the time of surgery.  (Marc Cohen, MD, San Antonio Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Eyelid Surgery Without Anesthesia

Yes it can be performed without general anesthesia. Upper eyelid surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia and lower eyelid surgery can be performed with moderate sedation and local anesthesia. It all depends on how comfortable the surgeon is with the procedure. (Mohammed Alghoul, MD, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

Eyelid Surgery Be Done Without Anesthesia

No anesthesia at all? That is hard to imagine. But if you are asking if it is possible for it to be performed without general anesthesia the answer is yes. It is very common to perform blepharoplasty surgery utilizing local anesthesia only. Similar to a dental procedure, a local anesthetic is injected with a very small needle. This can be used for either upper eyelid or lower eyelid surgery. Usually, the local anesthetic also contains adrenaline. We utilize this to minimize bleeding and also to prolong the effect of the local anesthetic. Most patients tolerate the procedure under local anesthesia well. (George Volpe, MD, Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Anesthesia Options for Eyelid Surgery

There are lots of options for anesthesia during eyelid surgery. Upper eyelid surgery can be performed with local anesthesia only in most patients.

Lower eyelid surgery is generally somewhat more involved and typically requires sedation. IV sedation is an intermediate level of anesthesia in which there is not a breathing tube placed.

The patient does not feel pain and is not immediately aware of their surroundings, but is easily woken up. This is the preferred method for much of my cosmetic surgery practice. (Evan Ransom, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

Local Anesthesia in the Office is Great for Upper Eyelid Surgery

In our practice, I discuss all of the options with the patients and we decide together what form of comfort measures will be selected. Having said that, the patients often will choose to use local anesthesia in the office with upper eyelid surgery.

We generally will use an initial specialized topical anesthetic for 30 minutes followed by local anesthesia after marking the patients. This should not be a painful experience.After the procedure, we always have a discussion with the patients during the first post-operative office visit to consider the success of the operative process.

One thing we always go over is the comfort of the procedure and early post-operative period. Honestly, most patients will remark that the procedure using local anesthesia was easier than they had anticipated. None have indicated that they regret their decision to use local anesthesia. There are types of lower eyelid surgical procedures that are poorly tolerated in the office using local and I will recommend some deeper form of anesthesia for those patients.

In the end, there are many options for patients and we always find a very suitable and comfortable solution individualized for each patient.

You might also consider asking the surgeon and coordinating team for the names of some patients who have had the procedure done in the same setting you are considering. That can be very reassuring and helpful. (Todd Christopher Hobgood, MD, Columbus Plastic Surgeon)

Eyelid Surgery and Anesthesia

I would see that this question can be answered on a case by case basis. Some factors to consider would be the extent of the eyelid surgery and your concern for discomfort. No patient wants to feel pain during surgery and this a minimum of local anesthesia at the site of the surgery is definitely recommended. if you are getting lower eyelids, eye bags, or brows down I would highly recommend a minimum of some oral anxiolytic or pain medication if you are not in an operating room.

Otherwise, IV anesthesia is a great choice in which you can be comfortable and not remember the surgery and have a combination of local anesthesia at the site of surgery as an adjunct. Additionally, nerve blocks at the end of the procedure do occasionally help with postoperative pain as well. (Sean Paul, MD, Austin Oculoplastic Surgeon)