A clear, balanced crease can make your eyes look more open and in harmony with your face, so you feel more at ease when you look in the mirror.
The upper eyelid has a fold when part of the levator muscle (the muscle that lifts your lid) attaches to the lid skin. When that attachment does not form, the eye has a single lid with no crease. Double eyelid surgery rebuilds that connection to create an upper eyelid crease. A consultation with your surgeon will help confirm whether this is right for you.
Everything begins with a consultation. A specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery, who is also the person who will perform your procedure, will assess the shape of your eyes, your face, and the condition of your lid skin. You will have blood clotting and bleeding-time tests before surgery, and you will need to stop aspirin-containing medicines for 10 days beforehand.
The procedure is usually done under local anesthesia, meaning the lid area is numbed while you stay awake. In some cases combined with another procedure (such as breast augmentation or structural rhinoplasty), general anesthesia may be used. Surgery usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on whether the eyelid has excess skin and fat. Most of the time you will not need to stay in the hospital.
Your surgeon will choose the method that fits your case. For a monolid without excess skin or fat, a suture method may be used: the surgeon measures the lid width, draws a crease suited to your face, then passes non-dissolving sutures through a few very small skin openings (about 1mm) or through the inner surface of the lid without cutting the skin, to form the crease. This approach tends to be less lasting — the crease may fade after about 2 to 3 years.
Double eyelid surgery can also be done with a continuous skin incision: the surgeon measures and draws the crease, makes an incision along that line, removes part of the tissue beneath the skin, then stitches to create the connection between the levator muscle and the skin. If the lid has excess skin and fat, the surgeon will identify and remove the extra skin and fat before forming the crease. These two incision-based approaches give a more lasting result. When there is excess skin or fat on the lower lid, the surgeon may also trim the extra skin and remove the lower-lid fat pad.
Surgery can help your eyes look more open and defined, and more in harmony with your face. Your surgeon will talk with you to understand what you want, but there are things this surgery will not do.
Recovery after double eyelid surgery is usually gentle, but the milestones below are a rough guide. Your body and your chosen method shape how it goes.
When carried out correctly by a specialist surgeon, this procedure usually goes smoothly. Even so, like any surgery, large or small, there are risks you should know about beforehand. These complications are generally uncommon.
At The Gioi Dep, the person who examines and advises you is a specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery, and that same surgeon performs your procedure. Your surgeon will assess the shape of your eyes, your face, and the condition of your lid skin, then choose the method that fits your case rather than applying one fixed approach to everyone.
To keep you safe, you have blood clotting and bleeding tests before surgery, and you are guided to stop aspirin-containing medicines for 10 days beforehand. The procedure is carried out at a facility licensed for aesthetic surgery — an important factor in keeping complications as low as possible.
The procedure is usually done under local anesthesia, so the lid area is numbed. Afterward you will take pain medicine for about 3 to 5 days to manage any discomfort.
Many people return to normal activities the very next day and go back to work after about 1 to 2 days, depending on the nature of the job.
With the incision method, the cut sits along the eyelid crease and becomes more discreet over time. After about 2 months the incision usually looks far less noticeable. Poor scarring is an uncommon risk.
It depends on the method. The suture methods are usually less lasting, and the crease may fade after about 2 to 3 years. A crease made with a continuous skin incision gives a more lasting result.
Your surgeon measures the lid width and draws the crease to suit your face. The aim is a crease that looks harmonious, though each face is different, so results vary from person to person.
Usually you will not need to stay in the hospital after double eyelid surgery.
The procedure usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on whether the eyelid has excess skin and fat.
The final result is usually assessed after about 2 months, once the lid skin has settled and the incision has become more discreet.
This surgery suits cases where the two lids are uneven or one lid has several crease lines. Your surgeon will assess this during the consultation to advise the right approach for you.
You will have blood clotting and bleeding-time tests, and you need to stop aspirin-containing medicines for 10 days before surgery.
Book a consultation to find out if this is right for you.
The content on this page is for reference only and does not replace a direct examination and consultation with a specialist physician. Surgical outcomes vary from person to person.