Facts about the upper eyelid lift

A particularly popular procedure with very telling results: the upper eyelid lift. This small lift can restore freshness to a face that looks tired and sad.

Slackened upper eyelids, known as hooded eyelids, quickly make you look older and change your facial expression. An upper eyelid lift can make a big difference here, and compliments on your alert and likeable expression may well become more frequent.

The outpatient upper eyelid lift

During the procedure, which is performed on an outpatient basis, the excess skin is removed, as is protruding fatty tissue and slackened muscle tissue, to varying degrees. To be distinguished from hooded eyelids are so-called drooping eyelids, which are caused not only by a slackening of the eyelid skin but by an impaired function of the eyelid lifting muscle. This problem, too, can be effectively corrected in the course of the procedure. The lift is normally performed under local anaesthetic; at the patient's request, twilight sedation is also possible. The incision runs in the natural eyelid crease and, after the healing phase of a few weeks, will barely be visible, if at all – an experienced hand is important here.

Immediately after the procedure the eye area is swollen and discoloured. Cooling helps well here to speed up the reduction of the swelling. Physical exertion should be avoided in the first few days after the upper eyelid lift.

Figures and facts about the upper eyelid lift

• After three days, light work (desk work) is possible again.
• After two to three weeks you are socially presentable again, and sport is then possible again as well.
• The final result becomes visible after about two to three months.
• The procedure takes one to one and a half hours.
• The upper eyelid lift involves little pain and little risk.