Upper Bleph Was Easy Peasy - Denver, CO

I typically don't write reviews; I only read them. But, I felt compelled to write a review to this community because it was such a great resource to me when I was considering upper eyelid surgery. Yes, I am that person who spent hundreds of hours watching videos, reading reviews, reading articles, reading journals... anything I could get my hands on to make an "educated" decision about the procedure I was contemplating. And, probably just like many of you, I'd read a good review and feel hope and confidence in my decision, and then I'd read a horrible story about a surgery gone wrong and then I'd be filled with fear and indecision. Back and forth... back and forth. At 42, my upper eyelids had such extensive hooding that my peripheral vision was being affected... in addition to making me look very tired all of the time. If I was only considering the surgery for a cosmetic improvement, I would have waited until my 50s; however, I was tired of having heavy eyes and headaches from the constant raising of my eyebrows to see better. My friends and family all told me that I didn't need the surgery but deep in my heart I knew I couldn't take it any longer. So, I set the appointment and despite all of the reviews that had me excited and then scared and then hopeful and then horrified... I decided I was going to do it and have my own experience and that would be that. It's true that I didn't sleep for two weeks prior to my surgery as my mind was taken over by the "What If's" and now that my surgery is old news (relatively speaking), I will tell you that worrying was a complete waste of energy. I know that’s how I’m built… I’m a worrier, but it really was unnecessary.
Many of you read these reviews to understand procedures step-by-step and I will provide a detailed recap so if you are a detail person like I am, you can know what to expect (instead of trying to fill in the gaps in your mind). It is important to note that my surgery was a skin removal only surgery (no fat or muscle was removed). I’m guessing that if more probing and removal of fat and muscle were involved, my experience would have been different. I decided to have my procedure in the doctor’s office and not the surgery center to save on cost, and given how easy it was, I am glad I did. There was absolutely no need for me to have an I.V. or be plugged into monitoring machines. It really is that simple of a procedure.
As far as the actual procedure goes, I will tell you that the drugs they gave me prior to surgery were nirvana. If someone would have told me how wonderful the drugs were, I wouldn’t have stressed as much. I am a person who never even takes an aspirin for pain, so the one Promethazine combined with ½ Zanax was enough to make me not care if they were going to shave my head or tattoo my face. My heart was pounding with anxiety for three weeks before I sat in the surgery chair, but once I was in it, I was totally calm. This was the one time I could claim to be a complete advocate of drug usage. ? The doctor discussed the procedure with me, drew the “cut lines” on my eyes, and began the procedure. Surprisingly, the worst part of the surgery for me was at the beginning and not the actual cutting. The three or four numbing shots I received in each eye did hurt. And I am a person who does not mind the needle. But, they really stung. Thankfully, that only lasted a few seconds. Next, the metal shields they put over my eyes to protect them from the laser (my doctor used a laser to do the “cutting” instead of a scalpel) was unnerving. Being that I don’t wear contacts, to have something over my eyes made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And, when they pulled them off (I think it was before they started stitching up the cut), it felt like a suction cup and that perhaps my eyes were going to pop out. Ok, it really wasn’t that bad, but it was an odd experience for me and I wasn’t prepared for it, which added to my distaste for it. The actual cutting was a breeze (no, I didn’t smell my skin burning) and by the time he stitched my eyes up I was so high that I nearly fell asleep. The entire procedure took less than an hour. Easy peasy.
Right after surgery my eyes were definitely swollen and a little bruised, but wait… what was that? Eyelids! Wow, I hadn’t seen those in a decade. I was expecting to also see suture lines back and forth, up and down over the incision line on my eyes, but my doctor did some magical subcutaneous stitching so the only actual stiches I saw were at the inside (near my tear duct) and at the outside corner. That was it. Of course the stitch line was red and a little raised (due to the stitching and my skin being angry) but that was easily hidden in my new eyelid crease. Brilliant.
The next day I was of course still swollen and bruised, but the bruising maintained above my eyes and in the outside corners (where the blood pooled at bit) – no black eyes at all as I was told to expect. I couldn’t believe how fast I was healing and within 48 hours of surgery, I was at a local restaurant for a social event and nobody could tell I had eye surgery (even with the little stitches at the corner of my eye). They thought I just had some bad makeup on. Crazy. It is now four days and a few hours post-surgery, and I am still amazed at how quickly my eyes are healing. I don’t get the stitches out for a few more days and I know it will take some time for the scars to fade, but overall I am very surprised and pleased. Recovery has really been a breeze. There is a little tightness on top of the eyes for the first few days (to be expected) but the pain was only a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10. My eyelids are still a little numb, and I’m told it takes a while for the nerve endings to reconnect, so that can be standard for a while. Not a show stopper, although touching your eye lashes and not “feeling” them is a bit odd. Still, no biggie in the big scheme of things.
I apologize that I can’t post pictures but I’m incognito (most of my friends and clients don’t even know I had the procedure, and I want to keep it that way). I do want to stress that I followed all pre-care instructions and post-care instructions TO THE BOOK. I took all of the natural remedies that my doctor's office suggested to help with bruising and swelling (Bromelain, Arnica Montana, and Bio Rutin complex). I avoided all medications that they told me to avoid. I slept upright and applied the ointment as directed. I avoided exercise (I miss my cross fit box) and didn’t clean the toilets (eye infections are a bad deal and I wanted to make sure I avoided all situations where germy-germs could be introduced). I do believe following these suggestions helped me to have a positive outcome.
I realize that my experience is my own, and I don’t want to set expectations that everyone’s experience will be as easy, but I did want to share my story in the hopes of providing someone with helpful information and a positive review that may give them hope for their procedure. If you have questions, please message me. Be well!