My Eyelid Bruise Part 1

Aesthetic and functional eyelid surgery such as ptosis correction and blepharoplasty are usually done under local anaesthetic as a day case at Clinica London.  Any operation on the eyelids carries the risk of an eyelid bruise.  It ‘s hard to predict who is going to get a bruise.  Some patients get no bruising whatsoever, usually younger people.  Older patients are more prone to eyelid and cheek bruises after their eyelid surgery. It is essential that patients undergoing eyelid surgery refrain from taking NSAI (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) tablets such as Ibuprofen and Aspirin for a week before their surgery. If a patient is taking Warfarin, they must check with their doctor whether they can stop or reduce this before the surgery. Diabetic patients tend to bruise more than non-diabetic patients.
The eyelid bruises are noticeable from the first day after eyelid surgery and then take between 5 and 21 days to settle.
Using TISSEEL fibrin adhesive helps to reduce the risk of bruising by its fibrin coagulation cascade promotion.  In oculoplastic eyelid surgery, I love to use TISSEEL fibrin sealant regularly to help close the wound skin edges.  I put a little bit inside the wound where there may be some tiny blood vessel potential bleeding points.
Typically a surgical bruise or haematoma becomes evident on the first day and then looks gradually worse on day 2, 3 and 4 as it changes colour and drops down into the lower lid, cheek, nasolabial fold and even sometimes can reach the jaw line eventually.  It then takes several days or even weeks to clear. Typically the bruise follows the private planes through the face very slowly and then gradually the body helps the bruise to resorb.
What is it like to have a bruise on your eyelids? Last weekend I was gardening.  It was a beautiful sunny weekend, and I had shorts and sandals on and was just going over a little fence to have a look at a site for a tree in another part of the garden when my shoe caught the wire on the wall.  My weight was still going forwards, the shoe and my foot stayed behind and then finally released catapulting me to the ground.  Fortunately, like an eyelid surgeon, I manage to avoid landing in my hands, so I did not get any side cuts.  However, I fell on my knees and face, and my glasses cut my forehead giving me an immediate egg shape bruise. In the next blog, I shall tell you more about my eyelid swelling. It is already two weeks after and the bruise is still slowly disappearing. I shall also tell you what to do to hide the bruising after eyelid surgery.