Scarring

[DianaR]

If a doctor performs surgery to fix bags under the eyes, how do they hide the scars?

They don't peel back the whole lower lid, do they?

How large is the scar when the surgery is done and te bandages and stitches are removed?

[Mr James McDiarmid]

Diana,
blepharoplasty can be done from inside the lid leaving no visible external scar.
This is transconjunctival blepharoplasty and I do it about 10% of blepharoplasty cases.

In the other 90% there is an external scar which in the lower eyelid ends up just below the eyelash line (2mm or so below) extending the entire length of the lid.

[jhellie_baby]

what a good explanation Dr. James at least now i'm aware procedure are being done like that. transconjunctival blepharoplasty would be a delicate procedure for it is being done inside, will at least no visible scar, but for me its kinda scary. :)

[bammer]

Kind of scary for me but how long is the healing process?

[Mr James McDiarmid]

Transconjunctical blepharoplasty is usually healed within 2 weeks - less than half the time for conventional blepharoplasty. I have my own ultrapulse CO2 laser which I use for this and it works very nicely with no bleeding and minimal bruising. There is no stitching and downtime is short.

The transconjunctival approach is not applicable to every patient though and it may not be suitable in certain cases - this is why I still do conventional blepharoplasty and the ancillary procedures like canthopexy/midface lift which are associated with it far more often than I do transconjunctival blepharoplasty.

To quote the wise words of Tom Biggs (the great veteran American Plastic Surgeon and ex-president of ISAPS) - "No key fits every lock" - meaning that no single procedure can be applied with success to all cases.