[Rari Plastic Surgery] About Conjunctival Edema After Canthoplasty.. (Causes and Management)

Among the many recovery changes after canthoplasty,

my eye looks bulging out

my eye looks like it is sagging down

my eye feels like it is about to burst

.

.

and so on, people often say things like this.

Why do we say that?!

It is not an incomprehensible comment.

This is the state 14 days after canthoplasty, with all sutures removed. However, if you look at the photo, the eye appears bulging, as if it is going to sag, and as if it might burst. This is conjunctival edema.

Conjunctival edema refers to a symptom in which the conjunctiva of the eye swells as blood and lymph fluid accumulate for various reasons. This symptom is accompanied by discomfort such as dry eyes, stinging, and a foreign-body sensation, but depending on the individual’s condition, it appears naturally and then disappears naturally.

At Rari Plastic Surgery, we show postoperative symptoms without alteration

There is a difference in degree, but swelling is present on both sides, and on the left eye, even when the eye is closed, the swelling is visible outside the eye, showing that the swelling is quite severe.

In some cases, the swelling is punctured to help it subside more quickly.

At Rari Plastic Surgery, we show postoperative symptoms without alteration

No matter what kind of swelling it is, puncturing it does not necessarily make it subside. It needs to be the kind of swelling that is greatly enlarged, as in the photo above, and in particular, the swelling must have a yellowish color in order for puncturing to be possible.

If a red swelling is punctured, only the blood inside will come out, so there is little change. But if a yellow swelling is punctured, the lymph fluid inside will drain out, and the swelling will be relieved to some extent.

If you look at the photo from day 16, two days after puncturing the swelling on day 14, although only two days have passed, the swelling has improved a lot.

At Rari Plastic Surgery, we show postoperative symptoms without alteration

Conjunctival edema is not a side effect of a poorly performed canthoplasty, but rather one of the various individual symptoms that differ from patient to patient. Some people do not develop it, but even if it does occur, it naturally disappears over time, so even if it is a little uncomfortable, you do not need to worry or be anxious that something has gone wrong.

During the recovery process due to postoperative swelling and edema, the shape and size of the eyes may also look very different on both sides, but as recovery progresses to a certain extent, the difference gradually decreases and becomes more similar.

At Rari Plastic Surgery, we show postoperative symptoms without alteration

Depending on how you look at it, these may be somewhat uncomfortable postoperative progress photos that could make someone cancel surgery after planning to proceed, or even avoid surgery altogether.

However, we believe that showing even these appearances without hiding them is a way to ease patients’ worries and anxiety about postoperative recovery, so we show all symptoms without mosaic or blur effects.