Laser Blepharoplasty vs. Traditional Blepharoplasty
Feb 10th, 2010 by admin
As the delicate skin in the eye area ages, it loses its elasticity and youthful firmness. That sagging, bagging tissue can be resolved with a procedure called blepharoplasty. Baggy undereye areas can have the fat removed and skin tightened. Crow’s feet can be “erase.” Droopy eyelid skin can disappear through blepharoplasty. As advances in surgical techniques have occurred, those wishing relief from excess skin in the eye area don’t have to undergo surgery with a knife or have the side-effects of traditional blepharoplasty.
Traditional blepharoplasty involves making incisions in the eyelid area to separate excess skin from the tissue underneath it. This is an outpatient procedure that may take anywhere from one to three hours, depending on the extent of the surgery. The recovery time can vary, depending on the patient. Swelling may also occur, and even bruising, and care must be taken to avoid infection. Bruising can last anywhere from two weeks to a month.
With laser blepharoplasty, patients heal faster than with traditional incision blepharoplasty. With a CO2 laser, no tissue is cut, and tightening is encouraged from the inside of the skin. There is no operating room or associated anesthesia as there is with traditional blepharoplasty. Using CO2 lasers is less invasive than traditional blepharoplasty. The procedure is faster and safer as well. The length of the procedure depends on how much work the patient is having done.
Another plus to laser blepharoplasty is by using a laser, blood vessels are cauterized as it cuts. Therefore, blood loss is less than traditional blepharoplasty. This allows for a cleaner procedure. With these finer laser incisions, healing time is decreased and bruising is minimized. After the small incisions have healed, scars are smaller also.
A more youthful look comes with a price, and it’s a good idea to choose a method that’s safer, more effective, and with fewer side-effects after surgery. Laser blepharoplasty is a better choice for all these reasons. After laser blepharoplasty, most patients are back to their regular active schedules within a few days of the procedure. Not only does laser blepharoplasty help restore a youthful look, it can also help improve a person’s quality of life.
