PLEASE HELP!! Drooping Eyes 40 year old – after Blepharoplasty. My boyfriend just had upper & lower eyelid (BLEPHAROPLASTY) surgery 11/30/05. Since the surgery both of his lower eyelids are pulled away from his eyes and after doing a lot of searching on the Internet, it appears that he now has ECOTROPION. He still has a lot of tearing plus irritation but we are assuming this could be because it hasn’t been but 10 days. He has an appointment with the doctor who performed the surgery this coming Monday. The doctor is telling him that he doesn’t want Mike walking around for another week or two with his eyes in the conditions they are in. Would you suggest the surgery be performed so soon? I have contacted a plastic surgeon in Oklahoma City, who has been highly recommended by many people… and when I contacted this surgeon, I was told that Mike should not even consider any additional surgeries for 3 to 6 months so that his eyes will have plenty of time to heal. Am just looking for someone else who has had this type of complication after the BLEPHAROPLASTY SURGERY. Also, for the upper eyelids, the line where the stitches were is very rough – not the least bit smooth. Should it be smooth by now or in your opinion, will it finally smooth out within time? Thank you so much in advance for any thoughts or words of advice!!
Dear Please Help!
From your description your diagnosis of ectropion is very likely correct. Other terms used to describe this problem are scleral show, sad eyed look, and hound dog eyes. You have taken the most important step by contacting a plastic surgeon who has a good reputation. His advice sounds appropriate. When you see the doctor be sure to inquire if he has experience in treating ectropion.
The most important thing for the present is to protect Mike’s eyes. Most important is lubricating the eye by applying an ointment such as lacrilube to keep the eye moist so the cornea does not dry out. If the lacrilube is too thick during the day you can use Hypotears. The doctor you see may want to use an antibiotic ointment to guard against infection but he must examine Mike to make that decision.
At night, when he is sleeping it is very important that the eyeball be lubricated with the lacrilube and that the lids close to cover the eye. One technique that may help is to place a small piece of tape or steri-strip on the lower eyelid and pull the lid up so that it covers the eye. In addition it may help to place a cotton ball over the closed eyelids and then place a sleeping mask over the cotton balls to make sure the eye does not open at night when he is sleeping.
I recommend you see the plastic surgeon as soon as possible before the eye is damaged. The plastic surgeon may want to do an eyelid surgery a TEMPORARY TARSORRAPHY to protect the eye. This technique uses a small stitch at the corner of the eye to temporarily pull the lower lid back up and help cover the eye-there is no need to wait 3 months to do this simple procedure and it could help save the eye. If the ectropion is severe and does not get better with the temporary tarsorraphy then a more extensive operation may be required-but I agree with the plastic surgeon that you will need to wait 3 months at least for this decision to be made.
As to the lumpiness of the upper blepharoplasty incision only time will tell. For now you can massage the scars, which should improve them.
Ectropion is a serious and dangerous complication of blepharoplasty and eyelid rejuvenation surgery. You need expert professional advice from an experienced eyelid surgeon now to prevent damage to the eye. You should see such a doctor right away and in the meantime keep the eye moist as I described above.
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