Fortunately, we have a system to understand this.  

Firstly, your consultant specialist general practitioner makes a referral about your eyelids as to whether you are a suitable candidate for surgery.  Your enquiry, is  carefully assessed based on the Medical Board of Australia guidelines including having a psychological assessment to ensure that you are suitable candidate.  Some patients may have scoring points that warrants a further assessment by a specialist consultant psychiatrist.  When it comes to the topic question, some people may not realise that they may be pushed into having surgery.  To make this clear, a consultation with us does NOT equate to you having surgery since there is a robust process involved to ensure that you understand the nature and potential risks of surgery ( you can read more about the risks of surgery here).  There is also a cooling off period from the second consultation.

So what does blepharoplasty actually do?

To learn more about blepharoplasty including how to operation is performed, to understand the risks of surgery (to learn about the possible risks of surgery click here)  and to view  before after gallery simply click the button below.

In essence, blepharoplasty or eyelid surgery relates to surgery external to the eyeball involving predominantly the soft tissues of the eyelid  (overlies the structures that lift the eyelids and also surrounds the tarsal sling - the structure that helps to hold the eyeball in the socket).  The soft tissues help to provide protection to the deeper layers of the skin such as the nerves, fat compartments, arteries, veins, lymphatics, tear duct system and more.  Over time, some patients may want to address the skin or soft tissues overlying the fat compartments of the eyelids to alter the shape and contour of the eyelids. As this is an elective decision, we encourage our patients to learn more about this during our personalised and comprehensive consultation in blepharoplasty.  

Does alteration of the soft tissues of the eyelids help with vision?

It may help with the visual fields if at all the soft tissues are in the way of your vision (more commonly in the upper outer region).  
This is more commonly addressed with upper eyelid surgery or upper blepharoplasty.  In other words, the best way to explain this is eyelid surgery removes a portion of the eyelid soft tissues which may have mechanically obstructed the visual fields (commonly the upper outer quadrants of the window of your sight).  Apart from this, blepharoplasty is not known to improve vision since it does not involve any surgery to the eyeball.  If you suffer from visual symptoms, issues or concerns you must seek a consultation with your specialist general practitioner who may refer you to specialist ophthalmologist for further assessment. Some patients may have ptosis of the eyelid which is a different issue to the discussed alteration of the eyelid shape and contour.  These patients may opt to have ptosis repair.

How about after blepharoplasty?

The potential risks of surgery can be read here.  Some patients may experience temporarly visual blurring after surgery, discomfort or swelling.  This in turn affects driving!

There are many elements involved with driving.  It is understood that you would have obtained a drivers license to ensure compliance with road safety rules.  Road registration must also be obtained to drive the vehicle and demonstrate that your vehicle complies with the standards required to drive on Australian roads.

Is vision the only factor required for driving?

Driving requires many important medical elements ( in particular musculoskeletal and neurological systems) such as having excellent sensory, motor and cognitive function.

Vision is one of the 5 important functions in the sensory component.  The others within the sensory component involve hearing, visualspatial perception, proprioception, and kinesthesia.  To learn more about this visit Austroads, simply click here.

If vision is improved through top blepharoplasty surgery, it does not necessarily mean you may be in an optimal position to drive given other elements may affect driving.  

Some other factors may also have a huge impact on driving such as the medications you take and medical conditions that may interfere with your decision making process.  Some people may be affected by psychosocial stressors and it may be better to refrain from driving until you receive the help required to assist you to get back to driving. More importantly, you should feel confident to drive and comply with all regulations, policies and laws pertaining to road rules.  

About Dr Nara - He is a key stakeholder in cosmetic surgery being actively involved in continuous professional development, cosmetic research and patient care.  His balanced, open and trusted approach to aesthetic surgery and medicine compliments the elements required for understanding and respecting patients from all walks of life.  He sees patients in Melbourne and Tasmania.  The team at RevAesthetic including practice manager Cate, trusted cosmetic liaison Jenny and registered nurse Caroline will look forward to listen to your unique enquiry.  Our team understands and respects the unique variations of patients seeking blepharoplasty.
All patients are assessed in line with Medical Board of Australia Guidelines.  Click here to learn more about us.