TAMPA, Fla. – Eyelid surgery is one of the most common types of plastic surgery, but downtime is often a major concern for patients. Now, a new device is showing promising signs to help speed up recovery by decreasing swelling and bruising.
Marsha Hoke, 73, had her lower eyelids done by Dr. William Mack, one of the first surgeons in the country to test the lid-lift goggles. After surgery, she used the goggles, which cause light compression around the eyes.
“By applying pressure it’s helping with the leakage from the capillaries after surgery, which in turn will decrease the bruising and swelling,” Mack said.
“I mean you can’t see a thing," Hoke said describing the goggles. “It’s blackout blind.”
Patients wear the goggles for three days, for 80% of the day, and all night. Early testing showed a major reduction in swelling and bruising, compared to using only ice.
Hoke’s improvement was noticeable.
“One week after (the surgery), he did a double-take and he goes, ‘You look like you’re a month out,'" Hoke said.
Mack says another benefit is improved compliance.
“It sounds nice to tell your patients to do ice for the first couple of days, a lot of times patients won’t follow directions,” Mack said.
One update after initial testing is the addition of eyehole cutouts that can be removed during the day so patients don’t always have to be in the dark. Mack said an added benefit of wearing the goggles at night is that they provide protection to the eyelids if a patient tries to roll over onto their face.
The goggles are now available to surgeons nationwide and in several other countries. For more information, you can go to www.lidliftgoggle.com.