If you have styes or other eyelid lesions Dr. Punja can remove them surgically. Surgery for most such lesions does not take very long and the entire appointment will typically last no more than two hours from start to finish.
These are outpatient surgeries for which Dr. Punja will inject and “freeze” the area with lidocaine. Once the surgical area is numb, he will remove the lesion or stye using a scalpel blade, scissors, or radiosurgery. He will discuss this beforehand and you will be able to choose the approach he will, so long as it will lead to a good result.
Once the lesion or stye has been removed and depending on its exact location and size, Dr. Punja may use sutures to close the resulting wound and reconstruct the eyelid. He will do this is a manner that results in the least scaring and may, in fact, hide the scare in a normal crease of the eyelid.
Although your surgery will not involve the eye itself, you may need to wear an eye patch for a few hours or use an ointment. There may be swelling after the surgery and rarely blurry vision, dizziness, or nausea. In any case, your vision may be impaired when you go home. This is sufficiently important that your surgery will be cancelled if you arrive without a driver.
You can eat normally before surgery to remove eyelid lesions and styes. This is especially important if you are prone to fainting when hungry or tired.
Dr. Punja recommends that his patients who have styes and other eyelid lesions removed go home and rest after their surgery and not return to work. There should be no problem going back to work the next day.
Do not do any exercise after your surgery until the next day. The next day any workouts should be light. However, be careful not to sweat too much around your surgical wound until it is healed.
Patients who have styes and other eyelid lesions removed rarely require an eye patch. But, if you prefer to have the lesion covered, Dr. Punja will be glad to do this.
The only discomfort you will feel is when Dr. Punja injects the lidocaine to freeze the surgical area. You will feel no pain during the surgery and should not have any pain or discomfort afterward. If you do have any pain, be sure to let Dr. Punja know about it.
You will have some swelling and bruising after the removal of a stye or other eyelid lesions. The amount will depend upon the extent of the surgery. It is rarely very noticeable and if you have radiosurgery it can significantly reduce swelling and bruising.
When the lesion, such as a stye, is on the margin of the eyelid where the lashes are, Dr. Punja may need to remove several eyelashes when doing your surgery. Because eyelashes are very tough they commonly grow back. The odds of them not coming back are about 2% although they may grow back in such a way that they rub on your eye and then need to be dealt with later.
When Dr. Punja does your surgery on the skin away from the eyelid you should put a tiny amount (a fourth of an inch) on a Q-tip or clean finger and apply it to the surgical wound. If he did your surgery on the inside of your eyelid, you will apply the same amount of ointment with your clean finger or Q-tip onto the inside of the eye and rely on blinking to properly distribute the medicine. If the ointment goes on the eye itself it will blur your vision slightly.
You will only have noticeable scarring from the removal of styes or other eyelid lesions if they are large and if they are away from an eyelid crease where the scar could be hidden. Dr. Punja will be able to tell you beforehand if this will be the case or not.
A useful option for reducing surgical swelling and bruising is radiosurgery. Dr. Punja can use this method for the removal of styes and other eyelid lesions. By using a high frequency alternating electrical current radiosurgery both cuts and cauterizes simultaneously. By stopping bleeding virtually before it starts Dr. Punja will also reduce bruising. And, the incision made with radiosurgery is much finer than when a scalpel or scissors is used.
Because patients may unexpectedly feel poorly, have difficulty seeing well, or have other issues after even a minor surgery of the eyelids, you will need to bring someone with you both the drive you home and simply be there just in case. This is a sufficiently important matter that your surgery will be cancelled if you arrive alone.
These procedures are typically covered by your insurance. Dr. Punja will let you know if you have a lesion for which removal is considered medically necessary in which case you will have no out-of-pocket cost for your procedure. If you choose radiofrequency, there will be a charge for the use of the instrument.
If you have eyelid surgery and the reason is cosmetic, the fee will be $300 which will include the use of the radio frequency device.
Dr. Karim Punja, an Ophthalmologist at the Calgary Orbit Eye Centre, specializes in oculoplastic surgery and cosmetic and reconstructive eyelid surgery. He has extensive experience in blepharoplasty (droopy eyelids), Botox & fillers, lacrimal & orbital surgery, and cataract surgery.
Dr. Chirag Shah is a comprehensive Ophthalmologist in Calgary and retinal medical specialist. His practice areas focus on retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinal detachments, retinopathy of prematurity (blinding retinal disease in premature babies), diabetic retinopathy, hereditary eye diseases, and hypertensive retinopathy.
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