Blepharoplasty and Eyelid Surgery in Antalya

The eyelids protect the eye, spread the tear film with every blink and frame the face. When they sag, droop, turn in or out, or when tears cannot drain, surgery can restore comfort, vision and appearance. This page explains blepharoplasty in Antalya, the operation for excess eyelid skin and puffiness, together with the other oculoplastic procedures Prof. Türkoğlu performs: ptosis repair, entropion and ectropion correction, tear-duct surgery, reconstruction after tumor removal and eye prosthesis surgery.

Eyelid surgery is detailed work on a small, delicate structure. The aim is always a lid that closes fully, protects the eye and looks natural, which is why assessment starts with how the eyelids work, not only how they look.

Which eyelid problems can surgery treat?

When heavy lids affect vision, a visual field test can show how much of the upper field they block. Many people have both functional and cosmetic concerns, and one operation can address both.

Blepharoplasty in Antalya: upper and lower eyelid surgery

Upper blepharoplasty

Upper blepharoplasty removes excess skin and, when needed, a little muscle or fat through an incision in the natural crease of the upper lid, where the scar is hidden when the eyes are open. The position of the brows is assessed at the same time, because a low brow makes the lids look heavier, and removing lid skin alone will not correct it. The operation is usually done under local anesthesia, sometimes with light sedation, and you go home the same day.

Lower blepharoplasty and the transconjunctival approach

Bags under the eyes usually form when the fat cushions around the eye bulge forward as their supporting tissues weaken with age. In a transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty, the fat is removed or repositioned through a small incision on the inside of the lower lid, so there is no visible external scar. This suits people whose main concern is puffiness rather than excess skin. Loose skin can be trimmed through a fine incision just below the lashes, and a lax lower lid may be tightened to keep it in position.

Ptosis surgery for a drooping eyelid

In adults, ptosis is most often caused by stretching or detachment of the tendon of the muscle that lifts the lid, related to age, long-term contact lens wear or previous eye surgery. Some children are born with ptosis; if the lid covers the pupil, it can cause lazy eye (amblyopia) and needs early attention.

The technique used in ptosis surgery depends on how well the lifting muscle works. Its tendon can be tightened or reattached through the lid crease or, for mild ptosis, a small muscle on the inside of the lid can be shortened without a skin incision. When the lifting muscle works very poorly, as in some congenital cases, the lid is linked to the forehead muscle with a sling.

Entropion and ectropion repair

In entropion, the lid margin rolls inward and the lashes rub the eye, causing irritation, redness and, over time, damage to the cornea. In ectropion, the lid sags away from the eye, causing watering, redness and dryness. Both are most often due to age-related laxity; scarring can cause either, and facial nerve weakness can cause ectropion. Surgery usually tightens the lid at the outer corner and restores the position of the margin, with a skin graft when scarring has shortened the skin. Lubricating drops or taping relieve symptoms until then.

Eyelid reconstruction after tumor removal

After an eyelid cancer is removed with microscopic margin control, the lid is rebuilt in layers. Small defects are closed directly; larger ones need flaps or grafts, sometimes in two stages, such as a Hughes or Cutler–Beard flap, in which the eye stays closed for several weeks. The options are described on our eyelid cancer page. A "chalazion" that keeps returning in the same place should be examined by a pathologist, because some eyelid cancers imitate it.

Tear-duct surgery: dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR)

Tears drain through tiny openings at the inner corners of the lids into a small sac beside the nose, and then down a duct into the nose. When the tear duct is blocked, the eye waters constantly, mucus collects and the sac can become infected (dacryocystitis), causing a painful swelling at the inner corner. In babies, a blocked duct is common and often opens by itself; massage or a simple probing may be advised if it persists.

In adults, a dacryocystorhinostomy creates a new drainage passage from the tear sac directly into the nose, bypassing the blockage. It is done through a small incision at the side of the nose (external DCR) or from inside the nose with an endoscope, without a skin incision (endoscopic DCR). A thin silicone tube is sometimes left in place temporarily to support the new opening. Bloody tears or a firm lump above the inner corner are not typical of a simple blockage; they need imaging first, because tear-sac tumors, including lymphoma, can cause them (see orbital tumors).

Eye prosthesis surgery

When an eye has to be removed, surgery on the socket and lids determines how well an artificial eye fits and moves: enucleation or evisceration with an orbital implant and, later if needed, procedures to deepen a shallow socket, restore volume or tighten a lax lower lid. See enucleation and the artificial eye.

What happens at the consultation?

Prof. Türkoğlu asks about dry eye, previous eye or eyelid surgery and medicines such as blood thinners, then examines the lids, brows, tear film and tear drainage, measures lid height and function, and takes photographs. If thyroid eye disease is causing lid retraction, eyelid surgery comes last, after any orbital or eye-muscle surgery. She explains whether surgery is advisable, which technique suits your anatomy, and what can and cannot be achieved. You can book through the contact page; if you live abroad, you can first send photographs taken from the front with the eyes open, looking up and gently closed for a preliminary opinion.

What does the operation involve?

1. Preparation. Blood thinners are adjusted only if the prescribing doctor agrees; avoiding smoking helps healing.
2. Anesthesia. Most eyelid operations use local anesthetic injections, sometimes with sedation, so you are awake but comfortable. Some procedures, such as DCR, may be done under general anesthesia.
3. Surgery. Incisions follow natural creases or lie inside the eyelid, and fine stitches close the skin.
4. Going home. Cool compresses, antibiotic ointment and simple pain relief are usually all that is needed; ideally, someone should accompany you.
5. Follow-up. Skin stitches are checked or removed after about a week, and the result is reviewed again once the swelling has settled.

What is recovery like?

Avoid rubbing the eyes, swimming and eye make-up until the wounds have healed, and protect healing scars from strong sun with sunglasses and a hat.

What are the risks?

Most side effects are temporary: bruising, swelling, a gritty or dry feeling, watering and mild difficulty closing the eyes fully in the first days. Less often, surgery leads to asymmetry, under- or over-correction of a droop, a visible scar, infection, a lower lid that pulls down or turns out after lower-lid surgery, or the need for a second operation. No surgeon can promise a particular result; the aim is a clear improvement with a natural look.

Traveling to Antalya for eyelid surgery

If you are coming to Turkey (Türkiye) for straightforward eyelid surgery, allow roughly a week in Antalya so that the wounds can be checked and the stitches removed before you fly; staged or combined procedures need longer. Keep healing scars out of strong sun, avoid the sea and swimming pools until your surgeon agrees, and bring a list of your medicines. More practical advice is on our international patients page.

Prof. Türkoğlu's oculoplastic background

Prof. Türkoğlu began her specialist career in 2010 at Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, where she worked in the oculoplastic unit. She is a member of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) and the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ESOPRS). At the ESOPRS annual meeting in Budapest in 2014, she presented, as first author, work on the nasolacrimal ostium (the new drainage opening) after external dacryocystorhinostomy.

Her oculoplastic publications include a first-author report of leishmaniasis as a rare cause of preseptal (eyelid) cellulitis and a report of acute tear-sac infection associated with tularemia. Her work as an ocular oncologist adds experience with eyelid and orbital tumors. See her full profile and publications; patients' ratings on independent platforms are summarized on the patient reviews page.