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I am the world's biggest freak out queen when it...
I am the world's biggest freak out queen when it comes to pain, blood, and anything to do with surgery. But I suffered from droopy lids, small eyes, and hidden lashes since birth, and so when I finally decided to get Asian Eyelid Surgery, I did a ton of research including considering clinics overseas in South Korea. After wasting a lot of money in phone calls to clinics in South Korea, I was lucky enough to contact a patient who had undergone a terrible Asian Eyelid surgery in Los Angeles, who told me to hop onto realself.com to look for doctors in San Francisco. She told me about her nightmare story and advised that I stay in my hometown for surgery to ease recovery and have quick access to my surgeon in case something goes wrong. I scrutinized all the before and after photos posted and came across Dr. Charles K. Lee's sample photo. The result looked so natural, like the girl just got bigger and brighter eyes. So I looked up Dr. Lee online and read at length about Asian eyelid surgery and how easily it can be botched. Trust me, I've seen bad photos of hack jobs done by other surgeons in my area. But the photos looked so good on Dr. Lee's site, I decided to book a consultation which was free.
The staff at Dr. Lee's office was super friendly and responded immediately. Everyone was really sweet and if you're from SF, you'll appreciate the fact that you can park in the hospital garage behind the medical building. The consultation was free. Dr. Lee was very nice and told me nothing was wrong with my eyes. But I told him I was tired of my squinty eyes and so he suggested a natural looking crease about 2mm (so I won't get sausage lids) just so I would look a little bigger and brighter. And my lashes would stick out instead of droop down and be hidden by the eyelids. All he did was take some pictures and booked me for surgery 2 months out.
On the day of surgery, Dr. Lee gave me a Valium a half hour before surgery. I had taken 0.5 Ativan at home because like I said, I'm the world's biggest freak out queen when it comes to pain. I was really really nervous, but Dr. Lee was nice and the staff was comforting. I was really worried that he would use watered-down local anesthesia because some surgeons who are not as skilled would do that as the anesthetic can warp the tissue. But the local he used was fine. The shots weren't painful at all, like a tiny prick. (Trust me, I've had more painful blood draws.) And he rubbed the area. I didn't feel any pain during the surgery, but there are some parts of the eye area you can't anesthetize. And so I felt some discomfort while he was making the crease, but generally, I didn't feel too much. A bit of tugging here and there, but it didn't really hurt. He asked me to open and shut my eyes during surgery. So it was a bit freaky to see him holding bloody instruments, but nothing hurt so I didn't care. During surgery, it was discovered that my right eye had a natural droop, which meant I was using more forehead muscles to open my eyes instead of my eyelid muscles. Dr. Lee fixed that during the procedure by pulling the lid higher but warned me the right eye would take a bit longer to heal. Surgery was done in about an hour and a half. Dr. Lee escorted me to a recovery room and I took the first dose of antibiotic he had prescribed for me earlier. I was terrified of infection so I took it right after surgery. He told me not to sleep and to keep my eyes open to make the crease the rest of the day. I was really really swollen and the incision line on my right eye had some bleeding and clear liquid discharge from the surgery. I also took some Advil for pain but I was okay. No real soreness at all. The Advil was enough. I didn't have to take Vicodin at all.
By dinner time, my eyes started opening up and things were already starting to calm down. 4 days post-op, I was shopping at a MAC counter looking at fake eyelashes when the salesgirl came up and we started chatting. I told her about my surgery and she said, "wow, they look like your natural eyes." And I still had the stitches in. She asked me for Dr. Lee's name and number and I gave it to her. :)
A week later, I got the stitches out. Didn't hurt (a bit of a sharp pinching sensation), but I was freaking out because that's what I do. Dr. Lee got them out in a couple of minutes and the incision line healed flawlessly. Seriously, like no lumps, bumps or redness. Totally nice. Totally even. Asymmetry is what people warn you off, but Dr. Lee made them perfectly. Clean line, natural looking. Can't tell I had surgery except for the puffiness. I didn't have too much bruising after the first week, but my eyes were puffy until about the third week. At one point, I was freaking out that the lids weren't de-puffing, but then a couple of days later by the time I went for my post-op check-up, they went all the way down. Dr. Lee did a GREAT job. I love my eyes. No need for tragic, painful revision surgery you may hear about. No infection. No complications. Perfect. I love my eyelids and I look like I was born like this. People have told me I look perkier and brighter. But they don't say anything about my eyes (which is good). I tell them I have on Benefit's new "They're Real" mascara which I can now wear because Dr. Lee brought out my lashes. I no longer use my forehead to open my eyes because Dr. Lee fixed my unknown problem too with my eyelid muscle. He did a PERFECT job.
Word of warning: don't put anything on the incision line or on your eyes. I was tempted to put some Neosporin or depuffing eye cream on my lids to speed up healing but that will just swell your lids up more. Don't put anything on it and just splash with water and pat dry gently. Take the antibiotics as ordered. And stay away from the mojitos, bellinis, cosmos and wine. Alcohol puffed up my eyes the day after I went drinking the second week post-op.
Three weeks post-op I got tired of wearing my glasses so I put in my contact lenses. Fine, no problem. Five weeks post-op, I forgot I had the operation and was for the first time in my life, learning how to put on mascara. So happy. Was it worth it? Yes, this made me happier than any Chanel bag or Cartier bangle. Because there's nothing that can make you prettier or happier than prettier eyes. And no mugger can ever take this away from you. :)
The staff at Dr. Lee's office was super friendly and responded immediately. Everyone was really sweet and if you're from SF, you'll appreciate the fact that you can park in the hospital garage behind the medical building. The consultation was free. Dr. Lee was very nice and told me nothing was wrong with my eyes. But I told him I was tired of my squinty eyes and so he suggested a natural looking crease about 2mm (so I won't get sausage lids) just so I would look a little bigger and brighter. And my lashes would stick out instead of droop down and be hidden by the eyelids. All he did was take some pictures and booked me for surgery 2 months out.
On the day of surgery, Dr. Lee gave me a Valium a half hour before surgery. I had taken 0.5 Ativan at home because like I said, I'm the world's biggest freak out queen when it comes to pain. I was really really nervous, but Dr. Lee was nice and the staff was comforting. I was really worried that he would use watered-down local anesthesia because some surgeons who are not as skilled would do that as the anesthetic can warp the tissue. But the local he used was fine. The shots weren't painful at all, like a tiny prick. (Trust me, I've had more painful blood draws.) And he rubbed the area. I didn't feel any pain during the surgery, but there are some parts of the eye area you can't anesthetize. And so I felt some discomfort while he was making the crease, but generally, I didn't feel too much. A bit of tugging here and there, but it didn't really hurt. He asked me to open and shut my eyes during surgery. So it was a bit freaky to see him holding bloody instruments, but nothing hurt so I didn't care. During surgery, it was discovered that my right eye had a natural droop, which meant I was using more forehead muscles to open my eyes instead of my eyelid muscles. Dr. Lee fixed that during the procedure by pulling the lid higher but warned me the right eye would take a bit longer to heal. Surgery was done in about an hour and a half. Dr. Lee escorted me to a recovery room and I took the first dose of antibiotic he had prescribed for me earlier. I was terrified of infection so I took it right after surgery. He told me not to sleep and to keep my eyes open to make the crease the rest of the day. I was really really swollen and the incision line on my right eye had some bleeding and clear liquid discharge from the surgery. I also took some Advil for pain but I was okay. No real soreness at all. The Advil was enough. I didn't have to take Vicodin at all.
By dinner time, my eyes started opening up and things were already starting to calm down. 4 days post-op, I was shopping at a MAC counter looking at fake eyelashes when the salesgirl came up and we started chatting. I told her about my surgery and she said, "wow, they look like your natural eyes." And I still had the stitches in. She asked me for Dr. Lee's name and number and I gave it to her. :)
A week later, I got the stitches out. Didn't hurt (a bit of a sharp pinching sensation), but I was freaking out because that's what I do. Dr. Lee got them out in a couple of minutes and the incision line healed flawlessly. Seriously, like no lumps, bumps or redness. Totally nice. Totally even. Asymmetry is what people warn you off, but Dr. Lee made them perfectly. Clean line, natural looking. Can't tell I had surgery except for the puffiness. I didn't have too much bruising after the first week, but my eyes were puffy until about the third week. At one point, I was freaking out that the lids weren't de-puffing, but then a couple of days later by the time I went for my post-op check-up, they went all the way down. Dr. Lee did a GREAT job. I love my eyes. No need for tragic, painful revision surgery you may hear about. No infection. No complications. Perfect. I love my eyelids and I look like I was born like this. People have told me I look perkier and brighter. But they don't say anything about my eyes (which is good). I tell them I have on Benefit's new "They're Real" mascara which I can now wear because Dr. Lee brought out my lashes. I no longer use my forehead to open my eyes because Dr. Lee fixed my unknown problem too with my eyelid muscle. He did a PERFECT job.
Word of warning: don't put anything on the incision line or on your eyes. I was tempted to put some Neosporin or depuffing eye cream on my lids to speed up healing but that will just swell your lids up more. Don't put anything on it and just splash with water and pat dry gently. Take the antibiotics as ordered. And stay away from the mojitos, bellinis, cosmos and wine. Alcohol puffed up my eyes the day after I went drinking the second week post-op.
Three weeks post-op I got tired of wearing my glasses so I put in my contact lenses. Fine, no problem. Five weeks post-op, I forgot I had the operation and was for the first time in my life, learning how to put on mascara. So happy. Was it worth it? Yes, this made me happier than any Chanel bag or Cartier bangle. Because there's nothing that can make you prettier or happier than prettier eyes. And no mugger can ever take this away from you. :)
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
1545 Pine St., San Francisco, California
Wonderful. Dr. Lee has the steadiest hands ever. And a great eye for symmetry and creating natural beauty. He goes for the natural look. Bedside manner very warm and nice. The guy's cool and his results are fantastic. My eyelids healed flawlessly and evenly. I look good and people tell me I look better but they can't tell what I've had done. Which is the BEST result you want. Naturally beautiful. If you want Asian double eyelid surgery, I don't think there's anyone better. Dr. Lee knows how to do it right and he does it well. He takes his time too. And healing in SF is good because the weather is never too hot. I had my surgery in August and SF is nice and breezy for bringing down swelling. Better than L.A. in my opinion.