Eyelid plastic surgery is generally performed on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. Before such surgery, your ophthalmologist will perform an eye examination and make recommendations. Insurance companies often require photographs and visual field testing before blepharoplasty and ptosis surgery.

If you are a candidate for eyelid surgery, inform your ophthalmologist if you are taking aspirin or aspirin-containing drugs, blood thinners, or have a bleeding problem.

This surgery is generally safe; however, as with any surgery, there are certain risks:

• While your ophthalmic surgeon will attempt to make both lids look similar, differences in healing each eye may cause some unevenness in appearance.
• A "black eye" following surgery is common but will quickly disappear.
• As it may be difficult to close the eyes completely after surgery, the eyes may feel dry. As the surgery heals, such irritation generally disappears.
• Serious complications are rare. The risk of losing vision is less than one in 500 surgeries, and infections and excessive scarring occur infrequently.