Following ptosis surgery how long before you are able to open that eye wide?
I had ptosis surgery 3 weeks ago, the type done on the inside of the eyelid.
The results have been the ptosis is worse than before.
I have experienced some double vision and I am unable to open that eye wide as I can
on my other eye.
Is this temporary?
I had my follow up appointment with the surgeon and he said with this type of surgery, the
lid usually raises in the 1st two weeks.
He has me scheduled to come back in 4 weeks to check the progress.
Thank you for your question!
In your question you mentioned that you had ptosis surgery approximately 2 week prior
and that apparently, the eyelid level has gone worse and there's an issue with the timing
of your follow-up in terms of now and when you're going to be seen again.
Well, I think that it's critically important that you contact your doctor's office to advise
them that your ptosis is actually gotten worse.
You see, after eyelid surgery, ptosis surgery in itself has its own unique challenges.
We're dealing with a muscle called levator muscle.
When we're talking about a posterior approach or behind the eyelid, there are a couple of
different procedures that are applied to that including what's called Mueller's resection
or posterior levator resection as well as Fasanella-Servat.
These are names that are technical but if somebody first is concerned about their eyelid
height, it's usually associated with some degree of swelling.
The physical weight of the eyelid can push the eyelid down as well as the healing processes
of the muscle and all the other related issues that occur especially in the first one to
two weeks after surgery.
For your photo, it doesn't look like you're very swelling so it means with that factor
eliminated, there may be an issue with the connection or the way the tissue is supposed
to heal.
It might have been some stitches might have been broken or it might have been some separation
but I think that your surgery may be at least be informed.
The timing of any revision surgery may be dependent on when your surgeon was informed.
I'll tell you in my own practice, if such as thing would have happened, I would prefer
to find out than sooner than later.
It's a balance of when you want to operate regarding the degree of swelling and healing
and what kind of impart there is on the eyelid height.
When there is a real separation before the tissue has the chance to develop scar tissue,
there is actually a window of opportunity.
And it's not necessarily within a few days or weeks, you actually have some time but
again, it's a matter of what your surgeon's preference is.
So I that you should insist to have your surgeon see you sooner.
I would have to, it would be advice for me to tell my patients, if there are any questions
or concerns, I would always tell my patients that I'd rather see them than guess what they
look.
Even if they show photos or pictures from their phone, or have someone to take a picture
with a camera, it's always better to see that patient infront of you.
And considering that you had your surgery so recently, I think that would be the best
thing for you is to meet with the doctor sooner rather than later, getting an understanding
of what's going on and what would be the appropriate next step is.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.