Hello, welcome to my frequently asked questions,
today I’m answering very commonly asked question
about eyelid surgery,
when I can exercise after having lower blepharoplasty?
This is a very common question that patients ask me
and we’ll talk about what you can do
immediately after the eyelid surgery
and what you should do over the preceding weeks.
We’ll talk about why it’s important to avoid over exertion
in the initial period after having lower blepharoplasty.
Finally will also talk about other sports,
more extreme sports and when you can do these kind of activities
such as diving and so on.
My name is Dr. Julian De Silva
and I’m a London Ocular Facial, Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon
and blepharoplasty is the commonest procedure
that I perform for my patients on a daily basis.
The information that I’m discussing with you today
about exercise is information that I discuss
with my patients every day.
So, in terms of exercise,
what can you do immediately after the surgery?
Well the first week is very much an investment of time
and it’s important to take things relatively easy
and I’d encourage you very much to stay at home,
walk around the house but to avoid doing other activities.
If you do a lot of things in that first week, well,
you will be exerting yourself
and your blood pressure will go up and down reflecting this
and you will tend to have more swelling
and more chance of bruising
and your recovery will be longer as a result of this.
So the first week it’s important to take thing fairly easy,
the second and third week well you can certainly go walking
and I’d still avoid going to the gym, yoga,
this kind of aerobic exercise
because this will put more stresses on the body.
Your blood pressure will reflect this
and again you'll tend to have
more swelling and bruising as a result.
So, in terms of the first 3 weeks, well,
this is the most important time after a lower blepharoplasty
in terms of taking things easy
and I would avoid regular exercise for a 3 week period.
Why is this important, well, in terms of healing
well, the lower blepharoplasty will result in some swelling
and occasionally it can also result in bruising?
Well, these factors can be increased
if you over exert yourself soon after the surgery.
So, in terms of getting the fastest possible healing,
its worthwhile avoiding exertion
and this will result in less bruising, less swelling
and a faster healing.
Generally with lower eyelid surgery
I will hide the scars on the inside of the eyelid
and so there are no visible scars after surgery.
However still some surgeries done with an older technique
where there is a scar in the skin in the lower eyelid
and certainly over exercise soon after the surgery
can result to stretching of the scar
and a widening of the scar.
So, for a 3 week period after a lower blepharoplasty
is best to avoid exertion.
Other types of exercise such as more extreme sports
such as diving, water-ski
well, these kind of sports can put more pressure and forces
on the soft tissues.
So, it’s worth while avoiding these activities
really for 6 weeks after the surgery
to ensure you have a fastest possible healing
and the best possible result.
So, in summary we’ve talked about what you can do
immediately after like having lower blepharoplasty,
in terms of exercise, I would take 1 week
where you were just taking things relatively easy at home,
2 to 3 weeks where you were walking
and you can regain all your kind of normal aerobic activities
at 3 weeks after lower blepharoplasty.
I hope this information has been useful for you,
thank you for watching.