Will ten days in Korea, upper eyelid revision recovery time included, be enough to fix a crease that came undone and still fly home without a swollen, bruised eye?
If the revision is done through an incision, plan at least a week in Seoul. Swelling keeps easing for another week or two at home, and a revision often stays puffy longer than a first surgery because the work happens inside scar tissue.
Hello, I'm Dr. Kang Kyoungjin, Representative Director at Pascal Clinic in Seoul.
I hold a PhD in anatomy and taught anatomy at a medical school before moving into plastic surgery, and eyelid surgery is one of my focus areas. A revision is where that background earns its place, because the second operation has to find muscle and attachment points under the scar of the first. Pascal treats eyelid revisions, the clinic has an eye examination room with a slit lamp, and a medical interpreter for your language is provided at no extra charge.
The consultation is free, and with those photos and details the team will tell you whether a revision is likely to help, before you book a flight.
Send two eyelid photos and your dates on WhatsApp
Get a free consultation in 1 minuteWhy does a revision take longer to heal than your first surgery?
The surgeon is working in tissue that has already healed once. Scar binds layers together, separating them takes more handling, and more handling means more swelling. How long that swelling lasts follows from what went wrong the first time.
Upper eyelid revision surgery corrects a crease that has loosened, eyelids that are uneven, or an eye that opens weakly. In a mirror the three look alike. On the operating table they are different repairs.
Risks and side effects to know
A crease that faded after buried-suture surgery is often the lightest fix, with less swelling. A crease set too high, or a scar line that sits unevenly, means reopening the old incision, and that swells more. An eye that opens weakly is a lifting problem, closer to ptosis correction, and it usually takes the longest to look settled.
I treat the eyelid as a moving mechanism. It has to work well before it can look good. If the muscle that lifts the lid is part of the problem, redrawing the crease alone won't hold, and the plan and your days in Seoul change with it.
Your days in Seoul, counted from surgery day
Count from the operation, not from landing. The first two or three days are the puffiest, the stitches usually come out around the end of the first week, and your flight goes after that visit.
In Korea, upper eyelid revision recovery time is shaped as much by the calendar as by the eyelid. The clinic keeps weekday hours of 10:00–19:00, closes at 17:00 on Saturdays, and is shut on Sundays and public holidays. New Year's Day and Lunar New Year are public holidays here, which matters if your break from teaching falls in winter.
Say you teach English in Osaka and have nine days over the winter break. Arrive the evening before a weekday consultation, and ask in advance whether surgery can follow within a day or two once the plan is confirmed. If it can, the trip works: surgery early, the puffy days indoors, the stitch visit near the end of the first week, and the flight a day after. If the exam shows the lifting muscle needs work too, nine days gets tight, and that's worth knowing before you buy the ticket.
In those first days, sleep with your head raised, use cold compresses over the lids on and off, skip alcohol, and give your eyes regular breaks from screens. Leave the jjimjilbang, swimming pools and hot baths for later. Sunglasses help on the walk to the stitch visit, for the light and for privacy.
If you're tempted to fill spare days with another treatment, keep it off the face. The underarm treatment in our Mira Dry guide is a separate area, but every procedure brings its own aftercare, so ask before stacking. For a longer stay built around surgery, our cheekbone reduction travel guide shows how the days stretch when bone is involved.
Can you fly with a swollen eyelid?
Usually yes, once the stitches are out and nothing is bleeding. Swelling can rise on a long flight because you sit still, and cabin air dries the eyes, which matters more after eyelid surgery than the puffiness does.
Pack preservative-free lubricating eye drops, keep sunglasses within reach, and choose an aisle seat so you can walk. Don't sleep with your face pressed into a travel pillow or the seat tray. If your lids don't fully close yet during sleep, a lubricating gel at night is common advice, so ask your surgeon about it before you leave.
Once a flight is likely, send its date and the date of your first eyelid surgery, and ask whether the old scar has had long enough to soften. That one answer settles both when to come and how many spare days to keep.
Send two eyelid photos and your dates on WhatsApp
Get a free consultation in 1 minuteFollow-up once you're back at work
The crease usually looks higher and deeper at first and drops as the swelling leaves. One eye often settles faster than the other. Judge the result after several months, since the first weeks show swelling more than shape.
Ask the clinic for a summary of the operation before you leave Seoul, including whether the old incision was reopened and whether the lifting muscle was adjusted. The U.S. CDC guidance on medical tourism advises carrying copies of your records and arranging follow-up care at home before you travel, and an eye doctor near you is the person to book.
See a local doctor the same day for pain that gets worse instead of better, spreading redness or warmth, fever, a change in your vision, or a lid that won't close over the eye.
If the scar line from the first operation is what bothers you most, our scar revision surgery guide explains why scar treatment makes a scar flatter, narrower or less visible and never erases it.
Dry eye, asymmetry, a lid that won't close: what can go wrong
Bruising, puffiness, tight-feeling lids and watery or dry eyes are expected in the first two weeks and fade. The rarer problems are the ones that change a travel plan.
Like any operation, a revision carries risks such as bleeding, infection and inflammation, which your surgeon explains before you decide. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons list for eyelid surgery also names dry eyes, difficulty closing the eyes, asymmetry, scarring and the possibility of further revision. Each operation adds some scar, so a second revision is harder than the first. Individual results vary.
Wait, or rethink the plan, if your first surgery was only weeks ago and the eye opens and closes normally, if you have significant dry eye, active thyroid eye disease or an eye infection, if you're pregnant, or if you take blood thinners you can't safely pause.
Doctor's note
When a first surgery set the crease too high, skin above it has often been removed, and no surgeon can put back skin that is gone. Some high creases can be lowered only part of the way, and I'd rather tell you that at the exam than afterward. An eye that opens easily is the base any crease rests on, so that is where I start.
Your first message
A photo with your eyes open, one with them closed, the date of your first surgery and the dates you can be in Seoul are enough to plan a trip to Korea, upper eyelid revision recovery time included. Ask the one thing that decides your trip: how many days after surgery your stitch visit would fall, given those dates. The consultation is free, and deposit and payment method are settled after it, so you can ask about both on WhatsApp before committing. At your exam, the first thing I check is how strongly each eye opens and where the old incision sits, because those two decide whether this is a crease repair or something closer to ptosis correction.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I wait after my first eyelid surgery before a revision?
Many surgeons prefer to wait several months, often around six, so the scar softens and the swelling has fully gone. Sooner can make sense when the eye won't close properly or a suture is irritating the eye.
Can I wear eye makeup or contact lenses before I fly home?
Usually not on or near the incision until it has healed, which often takes around two weeks for makeup. Contact lenses can go back in once the swelling allows and your surgeon agrees, so pack glasses for the trip.
Does a buried-suture revision need fewer days in Seoul than an incision revision?
Usually yes: there are no skin stitches to remove and less swelling. Whether thread alone can hold a new crease depends on your skin thickness and lid fat, and the exam decides that, so plan your days for the incision case until then.
Can I go back to teaching or a screen job right away?
Short spells on screens are fine within days, though your eyes will dry faster. Most people return to desk work or a classroom once the bruising is easy to cover, often within one to two weeks.
What if my eyes still look uneven a month later?
That is common while swelling settles, since one side often lags behind. Take photos in the same light each week to track the change, and see an eye doctor at home sooner if closing the eye or vision is affected.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Individual results vary, and surgery carries risks such as bleeding, infection and inflammation. Your surgeon confirms suitability at an in-person exam. Read the medical disclaimer.
Eyelid surgery · Fat grafting · Lifting · Fillers · Skin
