This is a question a patient asked of me. Here is how I answered it:
One week is about the average time it takes to get better. Healing is personal and individualized after an eyelift / blepharoplasty (eye plastic surgery / eye cosmetic surgery / eye lift) . Everybody heals differently. Someone can heal to a certain stage at one week while someone may take a month to get to that same point. Bruising typically resolves by one week and same with the swelling but everyone again is different. In terms of bruising, additional bleeding the first week is the most important. You should be really careful of not doing anything strenous for the first week but if you want to be aggressive to getting back to work the first two days are the most important for the bleeding and oozing. One thing to realize is that your wounds heal 60% at 6 weeks, 80% at 6 months, and 88% approximately at 2 years. This is another way at looking at things. Based on this the decision to return to work is really up to you. I have has patients take a flight 2 days after a facelift. Everybody is different is the rule!
I hope that helps.
Dr Young
Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington