Lower Blepharoplasty

Aftercare lower blepharoplasty

After surgery, cooled gauze and so-called “ice goggles” are placed on your eyes. This cooling reduces the swelling and bruising of the eyes. As soon as you feel well enough, you may go home. It is recommended to continue cooling at home for several hours (15 minutes every hour). This can be done in several ways. It can be done using the “ice goggles”, pieces of ice or frozen peas in a plastic bag (this not directly on the eyes, tissue between them). Because skin has been removed from the eyelids, more light may fall into the eyes. It is therefore advisable to bring sunglasses for the journey home. Even if it is raining or cloudy weather.

You cannot participate in traffic yourself after the procedure. In the first 24 to 48 hours, the eyes may feel tight and sometimes irritating. This is due to the swelling. Even with proper cooling, the eyelids will swell slightly. After about three days, this will lessen by itself. During the week of surgery, you should be aware that you must not bend or lift. This will prevent tension on the eyelids. Take it easy, especially in the first few days.
Use an extra pillow when sleeping.

After a week, the plasters and stitches will be removed. Two weeks after surgery, you can apply make-up to the eyelids again, unless your doctor provides different instructions.

Long-term effect to be expected

One hundred per cent symmetry cannot be guaranteed. A slight asymmetry in the beginning is normal. For most people, over time, the difference will disappear.

With an eyebrow correction, your eyebrows will initially appear slightly too high.
However, the effect is temporary and after a few weeks they will settle into their final position.

An eyelid correction or brow lift has a long-term effect, but the final process of ageing will not stop. Depending on your skin type, skin quality and whether or not you smoke, a long-term result can be expected that usually lasts about 10 years.

Complications

Despite all good care, the eyes may turn blue due to bruising. The whites of the eyes may also become discoloured. This is all normal. It is not normal if your eyes start to hurt intensely, with the whites of the eyes turning completely red. You will usually be prescribed an eye cream with which the symptoms will quickly disappear.

In case of such complaints or in case of doubt, please contact the following telephone number: 078-6425141 (Papendrecht) or 070-7400004 (Rijswijk).

Is eyelid surgery covered by insurance?

Much has changed in recent years in terms of medical reimbursement of eyelid surgery by health insurance companies. From 1 January 2005, for instance, the eyelid lift is considered cosmetic surgery by health insurers. Initially, health insurers were still willing to assume the cost of an eyelid lift of the upper eyelids if there was a limitation of the visual field.

From 1 January 2011, this arrangement also disappeared from the basic health insurance scheme. Currently, eyelid surgery is only reimbursed if it is congenital. However, this is almost never the case in practice. By definition, a lower eyelid correction is not reimbursed by the health insurer. Currently, you must have supplementary insurance to be eligible for Medical Indication and thus reimbursement for an eyelid lift, see below.

So, even in the case where you are looking against the eyelids, an eyelid correction is generally not covered by your health insurance company. This comes across as very unfair, but health insurers believe that you should have had an eyelid correction earlier, at a younger age, (and at your own expense) for cosmetic reasons. Unless you have supplementary insurance for an eyelid correction, you will have to pay for the eyelid correction yourself. A referral from your GP to the hospital does not change this either.

Additional insurance

Additional insurance policies exist only for eyelid surgery on the upper eyelids. This usually requires you to meet the criteria set by your insurer. These are usually included in your policy conditions.

Quality and safety eyelid surgery

Quality is at the heart of Eyelift.nl. There is a formal quality system, the qualities of doctors and staff are structurally tested and developed, and regular quality checks are carried out.

Naturally, all treatment facilities meet the requirements set by the government for this purpose and Eyelift.nl complies with the legislation relevant to it on all fronts. In addition to our own quality system and the dedication of our employees, Dutch legislation also provides a quality guarantee. Eyelift.nl complies with all laws and regulations imposed from the government.

Care Institutions Quality Act

This act requires clinics to pay systematic and structural attention to quality. A clinic’s policy must be aimed at providing responsible care. This means that care must be effective and efficient, patient-oriented and tailored to real needs. Every clinic is obliged to operate a quality system and issue an annual quality report.

Individual Healthcare Professions Act (BIG)

This act regulates professional practice and aims to promote and monitor the quality of professional practice and protect patients against incompetent and negligent actions of professionals. To this end, the law includes safeguards such as title protection, registration, authorisation of reserved procedures and disciplinary law. At Eyelift.nl, this means that only BIG registered doctors certified by the European Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery work.

Medical Treatment Agreement Act

This law regulates a number of rights and obligations of the client and the doctor. The right to information about treatment is one of the most important. The doctor is obliged to inform you about the nature of treatment, the rules of life to be observed after treatment, the possible risks, alternatives and the expected results. Furthermore, this act describes, among other things, the right to inspect the medical file, the required consent for treatment and the right to privacy and confidentiality.

Healthcare Sector Client Complaint Act

This act requires clinics to make formal arrangements for handling complaints. A complaint may be submitted to the complaints committee against a healthcare provider about conduct by him or persons working for him. The committee handles the complaint on the basis of a complaint regulation that must be made available to the patient. Eyelift.nl has joined the complaints scheme of the UMC St Radboud in order to offer and guarantee optimal quality through Enface kliniek.