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Eyelid surgery explained by someone who had it: what an upper and lower blepharoplasty fixes, what it leaves alone, the recovery week by week, and how long it holds.

Blepharoplasty, from the tired reflection to the settled result.

Resources

Most of what you find while researching eyelid surgery is published by someone who would like to perform it. The sources below are the other kind: bodies that set standards, publish the evidence, or explain the procedure with no booking form attached. They are what this site checks itself against, described in the Editorial Policy, and what you can use to test any claim you read here or anywhere else.

Oculoplastic and surgical bodies

  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), plasticsurgery.org: patient guidance on blepharoplasty, procedure explanations, the surgeon-fee statistics, and a tool for checking that a surgeon is board certified.
  • American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), asoprs.org: the oculoplastic subspecialty body, and the most relevant source on lower-lid technique, lid malposition, and functional versus cosmetic hooding.
  • International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), isaps.org: a global professional body publishing worldwide procedure data, useful for seeing how blepharoplasty volumes and practice compare across countries.

Independent health information

  • NHS, nhs.uk: a plain, non-commercial explanation of eyelid surgery, its risks, and the strict rules on when hooding is funded rather than cosmetic.
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology (EyeWiki), eyewiki.org: a clinician-written reference on blepharoplasty technique and complications, one layer up from the patient pages.
  • Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org: clear, referenced patient articles on the procedure and recovery.

The evidence underneath

  • Peer-reviewed oculoplastic and plastic-surgery literature: where the figures on this site actually come from. The journals reporting on lower-lid malposition, retrobulbar haemorrhage rates, East Asian crease longevity, and patient satisfaction are the layer beneath the patient pages, and worth reaching for when a claim sounds too neat.

What these are for

These are references for understanding, not a shortlist to book from. None of them can tell you whether eyelid surgery suits your eyes, whether the heaviness is your lids or your brow, or what result is realistic; only a surgeon who examines you can. Read them with the Medical Disclaimer in mind, and treat any single dazzling before-and-after, wherever it appears, with the caution it deserves.