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Stye Surgery

Get relief from styes

Ready To Get Rid Of Your Stye, Once And For All

  • We’ll Evaluate Your Problem And Answer All Your Questions
  • We’ll Explain What’s Involved With Stye Surgery, And If It’s Right For You
  • Dr. Landmann Is A Board-Certified Ophthalmologist Who Specializes In Eyelid Surgery
  • We Have Treated Thousands Of Styes
Get An Online Consultation With An Eyelid Doctor Right Now

I’m So Nervous To Have Eyelid Surgery For My Stye - Can You Tell Me About It?

A lot of people worry about eyelid surgery, but to be honest, I do Stye excisions and cut out eyelid bumps every single day, several times a day.  I would say the most common thing that people say after I’m done with the procedure is,

Oh, that’s it?

Are we done yet?

That was so easy!

I should have done this sooner!

People really worry about having a procedure on their eyelids, but it’s actually not that bad. Obviously, for me, I’m on the softer side of the needle, but here’s a perspective I tell every one of my patients after doing several thousands of these. The worst part of the whole procedure is thinking about it! The second worst part is a numbing medication. You feel a little pinch and some burning for a few moments. It’s usually a 3-4 out of 10, and it is less than a minute. But after that, you don’t feel anything at all. The procedure itself takes about five to fifteen minutes. If the stye is on the inside of your eyelid, I will often put a patch on the eyelid, but only for that night. The patch helps you bruise less and will get you a lot of sympathy from friends and family. If you don’t want the patch, you don’t have to have it. If the stye is on the outside of the eyelid, I might put in a stitch, but again you don’t feel that, and the stitch dissolves on its own, so you don’t have to have it taken out. The great thing about cutting out these eyelid bumps and styes is that they heal relatively quickly – usually in the course of two to four weeks. And you can move on with your life and get back to normal! It’s normal to be worried about having a procedure done on your eyelid, which is why my field of medicine was invented. I literally just do surgery on eyelids every single day, so my whole life goal is to make it as easy for patients as possible and as safe as possible. Honestly, I really enjoy doing these procedures because while it may be very stressful for patients, it gives them an immediate sense of relief, and patients are very appreciative of getting rid of the bump on their eyelid. If you need help with a chalazion or stye on your eyelid, then please feel free to submit a consultation on our website. It takes about 8-12 minutes for people to submit their information, and once you text us a picture of your eyelid, I will personally assess it and give you the best treatment options possible.
Get An Online Consultation With An Eyelid Doctor Right Now
A doctor during eyelid surgery procedure

What’s The Difference Between Cutting Out A Stye And A Biopsy?

When someone comes in to see me, and their history is completely consistent with a Stye, on examination, the lesion looks like a stye, and when I’m cutting it out, it looks, feels, and acts like a stye – then I just cut it out and throw it in the trash. That’s cutting it out! My goal is to get rid of your stye so you can move on with your life as soon as possible.  If anything is ever abnormal, or there is any concern for something other than a stye – like a skin cancer – then I’ll send it off as a Biopsy. A Biopsy just means that I send it to a pathologist (which is a doctor that looks at the actual cells). They are able to tell us exactly what kind of cells are there, so we know exactly what the lesion was.

At What Point Do You Recommend Excision?

The decision to have a procedure is personalized for each patient. The main factors are how long it has been there, what treatments have already been tried, and how the lesion looks. There are many other factors too. Their age, the health of their eye (as well as the other eye), their goals, their ability to sit still for surgery, any blood thinners they are on, and if they can tolerate the downtime. When you do an online consult with us, I will help you weigh the risks, benefits, and alternatives to various treatment options. If I do my job and explain those options to you, then you should be able to decide for yourself what is best!

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Dr. Dan Landmann performing eyelid surgery with a patient
Dr. Dan Landmann performing eyelid surgery with a patient
A doctor performing eyelid surgery with a patient

There’s a bump on my Eyelid - What Can It Be?

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, 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.

What happens if I leave the bump on my Eyelid?

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. However, skin cancer doesn’t necessarily cause pain or vision problems, but if you leave a skin cancer 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.

Stye Surgery FAQs

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. 

How to Get Rid of your Stye in
3 Easy Steps

No appointments necessary. No time off from work. $89 consultation fee. No copay. No deductible.

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Tell Us About Your Stye

Fill out our quick, easy and secure online consultation form.

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Snap a Photo

Upload a photo of your stye without even leaving your couch or office!

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Get Treated, Fast!

Dr. Dan Landmann will review your info, then design a customized treatment plan and prescribe an Antibiotic/Steroid to your pharmacy.

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