Your Recovery
After surgery, your eyelid may feel tight and sore. Your eye may be watery, dry, sticky, itchy, or sensitive to light. Your vision may be blurry for a few days. Your doctor will give you medicines to help with pain and discomfort.
It is important to keep your eyelid clean and to avoid rubbing it. Follow your doctor's instructions on how to clean and care for your eye.
Your stitches may dissolve on their own. Or your doctor may remove them 3 to 5 days after surgery. Your eyelid may be swollen and bruised for 1 to 3 weeks after surgery. The appearance of your eye may continue to get better for 1 to 3 months.
Most people feel ready to go out in public and back to work in about 10 to 14 days. This may depend on your job and how you feel about people knowing about your surgery. Even after 2 weeks, you may still have some bruising around your eyes.
After surgery for a droopy eyelid, or ptosis (say "TOH-sus"), you may find that your lid does not lower as much when you look down. Or you may find that your lid does not close fully when you sleep. If this occurs, tell your doctor. He or she may suggest putting drops or gels in the eye to keep it moist.
For the first few weeks, your eye will be swollen. When the swelling is gone, you'll be able to see the changes.
This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse call line if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.
Where can you learn more?
Go to https://www.healthwise.net/patientEd
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