Before surgery: what to prepare
Stop aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E, ginseng, and ginkgo for 10–14 days. No alcohol for 48 hours. Arrive with a clean face: no makeup, no contacts, no false lashes, no extensions. Bring photos of yourself from your 30s or 40s if you want to give the surgeon a reference for how your eye area used to sit. Be honest about dry eye history; aggressive skin removal combined with lower-lid work can worsen dry eye and the surgical plan may be more conservative as a result.
The day of surgery
Eye antiaging is performed under local anaesthesia with sedation or light general, runs 2–4 hours depending on how many components are bundled, and discharges same-day. You leave with sutures along the upper lid crease, sometimes steri-strips under the lower lids, and lubricating ointment for the first night. Vision is briefly blurry. The eye may not fully close while sleeping during the first week if ptosis correction was included.
Days 1–3: peak swelling
Swelling and bruising peak day 2–3 across both upper and lower lids. Bruising is more pronounced than single-component procedures because more tissue has been worked on. Cold compresses (10 on, 10 off) for 48 hours, head elevation on two pillows, no bending, no lifting, no salty food. Pink oozing is normal in the first 24 hours. Use the preservative-free artificial tears every 1–2 hours during the day and the thicker lubricating ointment at bedtime for at least the first 2–4 weeks to prevent exposure keratopathy. Some patients develop chemosis, a jelly-like swelling of the white of the eye that looks alarming but is a common temporary side effect of combined lid surgery; report it but do not panic.
Week 1: stitches out, bruising fades
Upper-lid sutures come out around day 5–7. Bruising has shifted from purple to yellow-green and is concealable with makeup after suture removal. Lower-lid bruising can be heavier than upper-lid and takes another week to fade. The eye looks tighter and more lifted than the eventual settled appearance, which is intentional.
Weeks 2–4: back to public
Office work and public-facing situations from the end of week 2. Visible bruising is largely gone by week 2 for the upper lid, week 3 for the lower. Residual swelling reads as a slightly tired or puffy look that softens through week 4. The intentional over-lift on the upper lid begins to relax. Contact lenses around week 2 depending on tenderness. No eye rubbing for 6 weeks.
Months 2–3: swelling resolves
Swelling resolves and the result begins to look like the goal. Upper-lid scar fades from pink toward your skin tone. Lower-lid contour settles. If a canthoplasty was part of the bundle, the outer corner shape continues to refine into month 3.
Months 6–12: the final result
Final result is at month 6 for most patients. Scar maturation runs the full 12 months. The most common reason for late dissatisfaction in eye antiaging is asymmetry between the two sides, most settle by month 6 but persistent asymmetry past then can be addressed with minor revisions.
Red flags: when to call the clinic
Call the clinic the same day for: sudden severe one-sided swelling, vision changes that don't clear, persistent inability to close the lid past day 7, pus or yellow discharge, fever over 38.5°C, lower-lid ectropion past day 3, or a hard painful lump. Go to an emergency room for sudden severe eye pain, especially combined with eye bulging (proptosis) or deep-seated progressive pain, these can indicate retrobulbar haematoma and need decompression within hours to prevent permanent vision loss. Mild lagophthalmos in the first 5 days, asymmetric bruising, and intermittent tearing are not red flags.