Mountain West Plastic Surgery
60 Four Mile Drive #11
Kalispell, MT 59901
Phone: (406) 609-0210
Monday–Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Blepharoplasty
At Mountain West Plastic Surgery, our board-certified plastic surgeons perform blepharoplasty, often called eyelid surgery, to help Kalispell, Missoula, and Whitefish women and men look refreshed and more youthful. This procedure can correct drooping upper lids and puffy bags below your eyes – features that make you look older and more tired than you feel and may even interfere with your vision.
To meet with Dr. Michelle Spring or Dr. Michael Hromadka in Kalispell, Montana, and find out more about eyelid surgery, request a consultation using the online form or call
(406) 609-0210.
Upper Blepharoplasty
Before & After Photos
Case: 1 of 9
Before & After
Case: 1 of 8
Case #53
View Case Details
67 year old male Preop: heavy upper eyelids and brows. Treated with Bilateral Upper Blepharoplasty and Browlift
![Upper Blepharoplasty Case 66 Before & After View #1 | Kalispell, MT | Mountain West Plastic Surgery]()
Before & After
Case: 4 of 8
Case #66
View Case Details
75 year old female treated with Bilateral Upper Blepharoplasty and Bilateral lateral brow lift through hairline incisions to stabilize the heavy outer brow skin.
Keep in mind that each patient is unique and your results may vary.
Good Candidates for Eyelid Surgery
The best candidates for eyelid surgery are men and women who are physically healthy, psychologically stable, and realistic in their expectations. Most are 35 or older, but if droopy, baggy eyelids run in your family, you may decide to have eyelid surgery at a younger age.
Blepharoplasty can enhance your appearance and your self-confidence, but it won’t necessarily change your looks to match your ideal, or cause other people to treat you differently. This procedure won’t remove crow’s feet or other wrinkles, eliminate dark circles under your eyes, or lift sagging eyebrows. While it can add an upper eyelid crease to Asian eyes, eyelid surgery will not erase evidence of your ethnic or racial heritage. Before you decide to have surgery, think carefully about your expectations and discuss them with your surgeon.
Blepharoplasty can be done alone, or in conjunction with other facial surgery procedures such as facelift and brow lift surgery.
Planning Your Eyelid Surgery
The initial consultation with your surgeon is very important. The surgeon will need your complete medical history, so check your own records ahead of time and be ready to provide this information. Be sure to inform your surgeon if you have any allergies; if you’re taking any vitamins, medications (prescription or over-the-counter), or other drugs; and if you smoke.
In this consultation, your surgeon or a nurse will test your vision and assess your tear production. You should also provide any relevant information from your ophthalmologist or the record of your most recent eye exam. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, be sure to bring them along.
You and your surgeon should carefully discuss your goals and expectations for this surgery. You’ll need to discuss whether to do all four eyelids or just the upper or lower ones, whether skin, as well as fat, will be removed, and whether any additional procedures are appropriate.
Your surgeon will explain the techniques and anesthesia he or she will use, the type of facility where the surgery will be performed, and the risks and costs involved. (Note: Most insurance policies don’t cover eyelid surgery unless you can prove that drooping upper lids interfere with your vision. Check with your insurer.)
Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor any questions you may have, especially those regarding your expectations and concerns about the results.
Meet Our Providers
Dr. Michelle Spring and Dr. Michael Hromadka are both board-certified, highly trained, and experienced plastic surgeons. Kristy Ehrmantraut PA-C, Surgical Physician Assistant for the practice, assists the surgeons in the OR and follows post-operative patient care in the office, allowing for better patient service and continuity of care. They provide personalized care that is tailored to the unique concerns of each patient, and use their expertise to create results that look natural. Our providers believe taking the time to truly understand their patients' goals is the key to not only meeting, but exceeding their expectations.
Your Eyelid Surgery Procedure
Our surgeons perform eyelid surgery as an outpatient procedure at The Health Center outpatient surgery center in Kalispell and North Valley Hospital in Whitefish. Most patients have the option of local or general anesthesia. Blepharoplasty usually takes one to three hours, depending on the extent of the surgery. If you’re having all four eyelids done, the surgeon will probably work on the upper lids first, then the lower ones.
In a typical procedure, the surgeon makes incisions following the natural lines of your eyelids; in the creases of your upper lids, and just below the lashes in the lower lids. The incisions may extend into the crow’s feet or laugh lines at the outer corners of your eyes. Working through these incisions, the surgeon separates the skin from underlying fatty tissue and muscle, removes excess fat, and often trims sagging skin and muscle. The incisions are then closed with very fine sutures.
If you have a pocket of fat beneath your lower eyelids but don’t need to have any skin removed, your surgeon may perform a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. In this procedure the incision is made inside your lower eyelid, leaving no visible scar. It is usually performed on younger patients with thicker, more elastic skin.
What to Expect After Your Eyelid Surgery
After surgery, the surgeon will probably lubricate your eyes with ointment and may apply a bandage. Your eyelids may feel tight and sore as the anesthesia wears off, but you can control any discomfort with the pain medication prescribed by your surgeon. If you feel any severe pain, call your surgeon immediately.
Your surgeon will instruct you to keep your head elevated for several days and to use cold compresses to reduce swelling and bruising. (Bruising varies from person to person: it reaches its peak during the first week and generally lasts anywhere from 2 weeks to a month.) You’ll be shown how to clean your eyes, which may be gummy for a week or so. Many doctors recommend eyedrops since your eyelids may feel dry at first and your eyes may burn or itch. For the first few weeks, you may also experience excessive tearing, sensitivity to light, and temporary changes in your eyesight, such as blurring or double vision.
Your surgeon will follow your progress very closely for the first week or two. The stitches will be removed two days to a week after surgery. Once they’re out, the swelling and discoloration around your eyes will gradually subside, and you’ll start to look and feel much better.
Getting Back to Normal
You should be able to read or watch television after 2 or 3 days. However, you won’t be able to wear contact lenses for about 2 weeks, and even then your eyes may feel uncomfortable for a while.
Most people feel ready to go out in public (and back to work) in a week to 10 days. By then, depending on your rate of healing and your doctor’s instructions, you’ll probably be able to wear makeup to hide the bruising that remains. You may be sensitive to sunlight, wind, and other irritants for several weeks, so you should wear sunglasses and a special sunblock made for eyelids when you go out.
Your surgeon will probably tell you to keep your activities to a minimum for 3 to 5 days and avoid more strenuous activities for about 3 weeks. It’s especially important to avoid activities that raise your blood pressure, including bending, lifting, and rigorous sports. You may also be told to avoid alcohol since it causes fluid retention.
Your New Look
Healing is a gradual process. Your scars may remain slightly pink for 6 months or more after surgery. Eventually, though, they’ll fade to a thin, nearly invisible white line.
On the other hand, the positive results of your eyelid surgery—the more alert and youthful look—will last for years. For many people, these results are permanent.
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