Stye Surgery Near Mahwah, NJ

On average, it takes me about 5-15 minutes to cut out a stye. I know this because we always ask our patients what kind of music they want to listen to before we start, i.e., favorite band or genre. Most people can get in about 1 to 3 songs!

I have literally done thousands of these surgeries – and I never needed to prescribe any pain medication. The vast majority of patients do not even need to take Tylenol afterward.

After you take the patch off the next morning, you can shower and get on with your life. The bruising is for about a week, and the swelling for 2-4 weeks, but if the incision is on the inside of the eyelid, you can hide the bruising with makeup. If you just use a computer for work, you should be able to get back to work the next day or certainly the day after. Your vision might be a little blurry in that eye for a few days, though – so if you have very exacting visual demands (graphic artist, doctor, architect, engineer, etc.), then try to do it on a Friday, and you should be good to go back to work on Monday. 

I tend to do the vast majority of Stye Excisions from the inside of the eyelid. This is technically more challenging of a procedure, but the main advantage is that the scar will not be visible. In fact, when I see people back for their postoperative visits, the inside of the eyelid heals exceptionally well and often looks like nothing was done. 

I have all the same equipment in my office that we have in the surgery center and hospital. So, I tend to do almost all of these procedures in my office. So, as long as we’re not doing it with IV sedation/MAC anesthesia, then there are no restrictions. You can eat lunch right beforehand. Just don’t eat a very heavy meal. 

There are literally dozens of different things that grow on eyelids, the most common things being styes, cysts, nevi (plural of nevus), and skin cancers.

As an oculoplastic surgeon, I’m able to collect background information about how long it’s been there, if it is painful, and if it has grown, as well as look at the physical characteristics of the “bump” and give you an assessment of what it may be.

Sometimes I’m able to very confidently tell you precisely what it is. If there is any doubt, I can explain what is involved in doing a biopsy to make sure that the bump isn’t, in fact, a skin cancer.

Well, that depends on what the actual bump is. 

If the bump is a cyst or a nevus and it is not causing any symptoms, then it might be perfectly reasonable to leave it alone. 

Skin cancer, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily cause pain or vision problems, but if you leave it on your eyelid, it could get larger and damage the eyelid or surrounding structures like the tear duct or the eyeball itself.

When evaluating a patient, it’s my responsibility to tell you what your options are. If it is reasonable to monitor the bump and not cut it out, then I’ll give you that option. But if there is any doubt, I will typically recommend at least a biopsy.

If you’re worried about pain or “seeing the knife” or the bruising afterward, please let me know what your concern is, and I can address any roadblocks you may have.