How is persistent bruising after eyelid surgery usually treated?

Doctor's Answers 1

Photo of Dr Terence Goh
Dr Terence Goh

Plastic Surgeon

Thank you for your question. After the surgery, your eyes may feel tight and sore. However, the swelling and bruising will usually get worse over the new 2-3 days before it starts to subside. Depending on the individual and the surgery you have undergone, you may take 2-3 weeks to recover.

Here are some of tips that we share with our patients to help in the recovery. I hope this can be helpful to your recovery.

  1. Antiswelling medication. There are some medications that may help to reduce swelling. I routinely prescribe my patients medication before surgery, to be continued up to 5 days after to help with the swelling.
  2. Cold compress. I recommend my patients to apply a cold compress or a cold gel eye mask to the eyelids for the first five days after surgery. This should be put on for 10-20 minutes at a time every 1-2 hours for the first 3 days.
  3. Rest and avoid exertion. Patients are advised to rest at home. They are to avoid strenuous activity that may increase pressure in the face and neck area for up to 2 weeks after the procedure. Activities such as bending down to lift heavy items should be avoided. Sports and contact sports should be avoided.
  4. Elevation. During rest, you should elevate your head above 1-2 pillows and this will help the drainage, swelling and bruising to improve.
  5. Makeup. Patient are advised not to put makeup on the wounds until review by the doctor or nurse. This should be for 1-2 weeks.
  6. Avoidance of medication that can cause bleeding. Medication such as aspirin, ponstan that can cause bleeding should be avoided. This also includes certain herbs and traditional medicine that contains, ginseng, garlic and ginkgo.
  7. Healthy diet and hydration. Keep yourself healthy with a balanced diet and adequate hydration goes a long way to helping recovery.
  8. Smoking and alcohol. Patients are advised to stop smoking before the procedure and until the wounds are fully healed.

I usually review my patients on the 5th day after surgery when stitches may be removed. The swelling usually worsens over the first 3 days after surgery and it then starts to improve. Occasionally when patients develop a bruise on the skin, that may take another 3-5 days to resolve. Most people should feel ready to go back in public and work by about Day 7-14 post-surgery. By the end of the second week, 80 percent of your swelling will be gone and the last 20 percent may hang around for a few weeks before it is completely gone in 2-3 months.

If there is persistent bruising you should check in with your surgeon to ensure that everything is ok and there isn’t any ongoing bleeding or blood clot. Most bruises should resolve by POD 10 and the rest should clear by the first or second month.

Get well soon!

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