I am a 53 yo asian woman with slightly droopy eyelids which i knew will get worse as i get older. my eyelids are also very puffy below the brows. i decided to get this procedure done now rather than later as i was concerned that if i did it later, i would not have the guts to go through it, and also i thought it better to do it now while i am younger than older. my hesitation in doing this procedure were caused by a couple of factors: that i am an older asian and i scar easily. i was afraid that i could be left with lots of hyperpigmentation which i currently have on the rest of my face from acne during my younger days. so we will see how the healing process goes for me. i plan to keep posting pics for a year to show the progress and whether hyperpigmentation and scarring will be an issue for me. my procedure was done on 3/25/2016 at 12 noon. i arrived at 11 am and changed into a hospital gown. was told to weigh myself. wash my face with dial soap. give a urine sample. removed my contact lenses. i was given a valium and an anti-nausea pill. they also took my bp and pulse. then wheeled me into the op room. started an iv and before i could say hello, i was out. seems like only a minute later, they were waking me up. i had a good nap. i was not in any pain at all. i got dressed, remembered that i was wheeled down to my husband. and then i was home!! i barely remembered much really. but over the next few days, i did not have any pain at all. i had the prescription meds hydrocodone-acetaminophen on hand just in case but i did not have to take any at all. i continue to ice my eyes for the first 48 hours. and i took extra strength acetaminophen to help reduce inflammation more than anything else. i did not take it for the pain as there was no pain at all. i took my first shower and shampoo 48 hours later and make sure not to blast water into my face. i use q-tips to clean gently around my eyes. the first couple of days look a lot better than the 3rd day. by the 3rd day, the area around my left eye was definitely more swollen, bruised and tender. no big deal. i can't wait to see how i will look in a month. i have my appointment on apirl 1st, 2015 to have the sutures removed. i was told that i will not be able to wear my contact lenses for about 2 weeks. i was also told that my eyes would be very dry, but i have not had that at all.
Updated on 31 Mar 2015:
My left eye area seems to be more swollen under the eye, and the bruising seems to take on a larger area. But the swelling on the eyelids have definitely subsided quite a bit. I don't have as much difficulty opening my eyes. The past few days, it took a little effort opening my eyes as the eyelids felt really stiff and swollen. I still have no pain at all. Lucky me! My upper eyelids just feel like they got a shot of numbing pain, like when you are at the dentist. when i gently press on my upper eye lids just below my brows, they feel a little sore. the sutures from the procedure have been taped down. i was able to shower without worrying that the surgical tapes will fall off. they stayed on.
I am still a little concerned that my eyes won't look even. but we will have to wait and see as the swelling on each eye is subsiding at a different rate. i also feel that the incision at the end of my right eye may be cut a little too close to the corner. we'll see...
Updated on 31 Mar 2015:
Swelling has gone down quite a bit, especially on the upper lids just below the brow. The area between my eyelashes and incision does not look as thick and purple. I am starting to see what my eyes will look like. Although I am still concerned that they may not crease evenly because of the way the incisions were made. time will tell.
the surgical tape that taped the threads to the area between my eyebrows finally fell off in the shower. So, now I have about 2 inches of thread sticking out . just hope that i don't try to pull them off in my sleep.
i have been sleeping in a sitting-up position for the last few nights. used about 10 different pillows to prop me up left and right so that i don't slump over onto my face in the middle of the night. i am a side sleeper who likes to press my face into the pillow.
Updated on 31 Mar 2015:
I thought my post op f/u was April 1st, but it was actually March 31st. I was kept waiting for about 45 minutes in the reception area. Finally got up and told the receptionist I had been waiting. She was quite alarmed and went to check, and in about 10 minutes, a nurse came out and brought me into one of the rooms. they must have forgotten that i was waiting, i think. tHANK GOODNESS FOR MY CELLPHONE. wHAT WOULD i HAVE DONE WHILE WAITING. the nurse removed the sutures which was a weird indescribable sensation. a little painful. definitely more pain than i haD since the op.
dr hing came in after about 5 minutes to check out his handiwork . he seemed quite pleased but also noticed that the crease on the inner corner of my right eye IS NOT creasING where it should. but there were a couple of little swollen bumps that need to subside before we can know for sure how the crease will lay. so anyway, he said that he would like to follow up with me on a weekly basis. what an awesome doctor!! this shows that he takes pride in his work and shows a real concern for his patients. especially in post op situations, i would think most doctors would have brushed me off by then.
THIS BEING MY 6TH DAY POST OP, I CAN SEE THAT THE INCISION IS STARTING TO SCAB OVER. I ASKED IF I SHOULD PUT SOME KIND OF OINTMENT LIKE AN ANTIBIOTIC OVER THE INCISION, BUT WAS ADVISED NOT TO BY DR. HING. I GUESS WE ARE GOING TO LET THE INCISIONS HEAL NATURALLY ON THEIR OWN AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
I ALSO WANTED TO KNOW WHEN I WOULD BE FULLY HEALED. MEANING: WHEN WILL THE SWELLING FULLY SUBSIDE, NO VISIBLE INCISION, NO MORE BRUISES, AND I CAN WEAR MY CONTACT LENSES AND WEAR EYE MAKE UP. OF COURSE, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE HEALING PROCESS DIFFERS FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER. I WAS TOLD ALL OF THAT WILL PROBABLY TAKE ABOUT 7-10 DAYS TO CLEAR UP AND SUBSIDE. BUT INTERNALLY, UNDER THE SKIN, I GUESS THE HEALING PROCESS WILL CONTINUE FOR ABOUT A YEAR. wELL, AS LONG AS i CAN LOOK ALMOST NORMAL IN ABOUT 10 DAYS, I AM GOOD WITH THAT.
I WISHED I HAD SCHEDULED TO DO THIS EYELID SURGERY EARLIER THIS YEAR RATHER THAN LATER, AS I FIRST SAW HIM IN DECEMBER. I WAS NERVOUS AND KEPT PUTTING IT OFF .
wELL, ANYWAY...I AM QUITE PLEASED WITH HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
RIGHT AFTER SEEING dR. hING, i HAD AN APPOINTMENT WITH POST-OP CAMOUFLAGE. gINA WAS REALLY NICE AND WENT OVER WITH ME WHAT i CAN DO TO COVER UP THE BRUISES. SHE GAVE ME A CONCEALER THAT SHE MATCHED TO MY SKIN TONE, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER SKIN CARE SAMPLES.
SO FAR, IF YOU ARE IN THE ANN ARBOR AREA, I DEFINITELY DO RECOMMEND DR. HING FOR THIS PROCEDURE. IN THE FIRST PLACE, HE WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME BY A FRIEND.
Updated on 1 Apr 2015:
Just wanted to show these pics taken exactly one week after my procedure. i started wearing my contact lenses today. dr. hing said i could as long as i was not pulling on the upper eyelid. i am not wearing any eye makeup on my upper lids, but am using eye liner for lower. also i am very careful when washing my face, patting it dry very very gently around the eyes and also making sure my eye lids are really dry. went to the grocery store today but had my sunglasses on the whole time i was inside.
Updated on 25 Apr 2015:
Overall I am quite pleased at how my eyes are starting to look. I can still feel a lot of swelling in my upper eye lids. so even though my eyes still look a little droopy from the side, i know that once the swelling has completely subsided, my eyelids will look the way i want them to look. I have gone for 3 eye massages (which were included in the cost of the procedure). I have also gone for a total of 3 follow-up visits with Dr. Hing. He continues to monitor my progress on a weekly basis.
Being an asian with my skin tone, I expected the incision scar to take longer to fade. I do see it fading a little every day.
Updated on 15 Jun 2017:
Pics taken 03-20-2016 but I am only posting them now. I'm not very happy one year post-op; and 2-year post-op. I went back to Dr. Hing at about 9 months post-op and he said he can fix and remove more fat below the brow. But I can't imagine going through it again. Plus I am too busy and can't spare the time to recover from the procedure. One incision is higher than the other, so now one eye looks very obviously bigger than the other. Should I get them re-done?