Hallo, welcome to my frequently asked questions.
Today I’m answering commonly asked question
about eyelids and Blepharoplasty.
What do I do if I have a small lump
or bump also known as an eyelid cyst
after having Blepharoplasty?
And in answering this question we’ll talk about,
well what are the causes of these lumps and bumps and cysts.
What can be done in terms of treating these lumps and bumps,
and finally what I can do to ensure
that I get the best possible result.
My name is Dr. Julian de Silva,
and I’m a London based facial cosmetic and plastic surgeon.
And I specialize in Blepharoplasty.
And eyelid surgery is the commonest surgery
that I complete for my patients on a daily basis.
So in answering this question,
well first of all what is the cause of these lumps
and bumps after Blepharoplasty.
Well occasionally after having eyelid surgery,
it can have a small lesion and lump
or bump also known as an eyelid cyst
in the scar after having eyelid surgery.
And the cause of this, well there’s a lot of glands
and inside the skin that can make
different kind of skin secretions
oily kind of secretions
that have an important purpose in the face.
And these are particularly common around the eyelids.
And sometimes after eyelid surgery,
well one of these, these glands,
rather than releasing the contents of,
of the gland onto the skin surface they can become trapped.
And this essentially is a type of cyst.
Now, a 50% of the time then these lumps and bumps occur,
they can actually spontaneously resolve, and treat themselves.
But on the occasion these do persist,
and can require treatment.
So, what is the treatment
for these eyelids lumps and bumps?
Well, generally speaking the first thing to do is to wait,
because a good proportion or approximately 50% of these
lesions, will spontaneously resolve without any treatment.
However on occasion these doesn’t occur,
it may be necessary to do something
in order to resolve the cyst.
What this would involve is putting a small amount of local
anesthetic into that very focal area where the cyst is.
That can sting for about 10-15seconds.
Then that little cyst is removed from the skin.
It literally takes 2, 3 minutes to complete that.
I personally also use a little bit of cote heat treatment to
try and ensure that no further cysts occur in the future.
And then a small amount
of antibiotic ointment is placed on the surface.
Generally speaking the recovery from this kind of minor
procedure is a matter of days, 5 days to a week.
However with any kind of eyelid procedure
there’s always a small possibility of a bruise.
And if you have any important events
it’d be good idea to allow couple of weeks
just in case that small possibility of a bruise.
Overall these cysts happen in about 5% of patients,
and they can be a little bit frustrating
having lumps or bumps on the eyelids,
but these are very treatable.
What can be done to prevent these cysts?
Well the cause of these cysts, well partly is genetic.
Some people have more of a tendency to have little cysts
in the skin and often you can find
that you have little cysts elsewhere in the face.
However having had eyelid surgery,
sometimes it can become more common.
Generally speaking most patients have one at most,
but there’s always a possibility of having 2 or more.
Generally speaking these cysts
are not really an issue that can be readily resolved
but often even the appearance
of the cysts is largely hidden
because the skin creases, the scar is hidden
within the skin crease with upper blepharoplasty.
But it makes it quite difficult
to see the cysts unless it’s towards the inside
of the eyelid, towards the nose or the outside.
But generally speaking they’re quite difficult to see,
and quite small.
What can I do to prevent these cysts occurring?
Well part of it is genetics, and that is difficult to change.
Part of the technique that’s involved
with upper Blepharoplasty,
well there are certain things that can be done
to minimize the chance of cyst occurring,
such as the use of removable stitches that will cause less
scaring, and less healing of the skin.
But to an extent there’s always a small possibility of a cyst
occurring and it’s just important to bear in mind
that these are quite treatable even after having surgery.
I hope this information has been useful for you,
thank you for watching.