Blepharoplasty before and after photos

Before and after photographs are a useful way to understand what eyelid surgery changes. The eye area is expressive and mobile, which makes these photographs more sensitive to how they were taken than most.

Photographs are shown and discussed at consultation, where your surgeon can select cases relevant to your anatomy.

The standards these photos must meet

Before and after images used by registered health practitioners in Australia are governed by the Medical Board of Australia's Guidelines for advertising regulated health services.

Images must be genuine - real patients, real results.
Photographs on this website have been retouched only to protect patient privacy, never to enhance or alter the results of the surgery.
Images must carry a clear and prominent disclaimer that results may vary between individuals.
Patients must consent to the use of their images.

Results may vary between individuals. A photograph records one person's outcome, not a prediction of yours.

How to read an eyelid surgery photo

Same gaze, same expression. Look for both frames with the eyes in the same position - looking straight at the camera, relaxed. A photograph taken looking slightly downward makes the upper lid look heavier; looking slightly up opens it. Raised brows in one frame change everything.
Brow position. Many people unconsciously raise their brows to lift a heavy lid. If the brows are raised in the before and relaxed in the after, part of what you are seeing is brow position, not surgery.
Lighting. Under-eye bags and hollows are shadows. Light from above deepens them; flat light removes them. This is the most common way lower eyelid galleries mislead.
Time elapsed. Bruising and swelling peak at two to three days and improve over one to two weeks, but the eyelid continues to settle for months. Scars in the upper lid crease mature over about a year.
Makeup. Eye makeup changes the apparent shape of the lid entirely. Both frames should be without it.
Which operation. Upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty, both together, and a brow lift produce different changes. A combined result is not a guide to what upper eyelid surgery alone will do.

What to look for in a good result

Preserved eye shape. The eyes should look like the same person's eyes, less heavy. A rounded or startled appearance suggests over-correction.
A natural lid platform in the upper lid - visible, but not hollowed out. Removing too much upper eyelid fat produces a skeletal look that is difficult to correct.
Lower lid position. The lower lid should sit against the eye. A lid pulled downward, showing white below the iris where it did not before, indicates lid retraction or ectropion - a recognised complication.
Symmetry, within reason. Most faces are naturally slightly asymmetric around the eyes, before and after.
The scar. In upper blepharoplasty it sits in the natural crease. In lower blepharoplasty performed from inside the lid there is no external scar; where a subciliary incision was used, it sits just below the lashes.

Why your result will differ

Outcomes vary with eyelid anatomy, skin thickness and quality, the amount and position of fat, brow position, bone structure around the eye socket, age, ethnicity-related anatomical differences, and healing.

Two factors are often decisive and are not obvious in a photograph:

Whether the underlying problem was actually the eyelid. Descended brows, eyelid ptosis and under-eye pigmentation are different problems requiring different treatment. Someone whose gallery result looks like what you want may have had a different operation to the one you need.
The lower lid's supporting structures. A lower lid that is already lax before surgery behaves differently afterwards and may need additional support at the time of the operation.

Costs and consultation

Upper blepharoplasty $8,000 to $12,000; lower $9,000 to $13,000; both together $15,000 to $18,000. As at September 2024 and including GST, a consultation with a Specialist Plastic Surgeon is $350. Where overhanging upper eyelid skin is documented to impair the upper visual field, MBS item 45618 may apply.

Since 1 July 2023, all patients are required to have a GP referral before seeing a plastic surgeon or doctor about cosmetic surgery.

Risks

All surgical procedures carry risks and potential complications, including infection, bleeding and haematoma, scarring, dry eye, difficulty closing the eyes fully, ectropion or lower lid retraction, asymmetry, over-correction or under-correction, changes in sensation, double or blurred vision, rare loss of vision, anaesthesia complications, and the possible need for revision surgery.

Please read our information on the risks and complications of cosmetic surgery before proceeding.

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

See blepharoplasty, upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty, or all face procedures.