Upper Blepharoplasty on 4/17/12 - Tucson, AZ

I love my results :D . This is not a quick fix solution, you'll need to wait quite sometime to see your full results. I am now two years post-op and couldn't be happier with how my eyes turned out.

I am 27 years old, and decided to get an Upper Blepharoplasty to remove excess skin I have had in my eyelids since childhood. I was already being seen for a revision rhinoplasty, and decided to have my eyelids done at the same time. Today I am 2 weeks post-op and love what I see. I am going to write the review as if this is your first plastic surgery, so if it is not and you already know much of this information, I apologize. First off, do not let cost determine where/whom you go to for this or any plastic surgery. If this is something you really want, please save up the amount of money it takes to see a board certified plastic surgeon. You should feel VERY comfortable with your surgeon. Also, your surgeon should guarantee his/her work. My surgeon did my initial rhinoplasty as well as my revision. Since I was not completely where I wanted to be after the first rhinoplasty, my surgeon has also done my revision for just the cost of anesthesia and the surgery center care. The initial rhinoplasty was 5,000, the revision was 1,000. So find someone who is able to offer this, since it is a sign of highly satisfied clients. I had my surgery on 4/17/12. I typically do not react well to anesthesia (I wake up nauseated and vomit), however this time I woke up, was able to sit up, walk around and even enjoy dinner with my family that same night. All thanks to a conversation with my anesthesiologist who listened and treated me with the proper medications prior to my surgery. So this is another tip, when the anesthesiologist comes to speak with you, voice any concerns you may have from prior surgeries!! Okay, now on to my recovery thus far. First off, expect two things from this and ANY plastic surgery. Swelling and bruising. Depending on the surgery and person, this varies in amount. With just the eyelids, it wasn’t TOO bad. However, if this is your first plastic surgery, you may look at yourself post-op and be a little taken back. Plastic surgery is not an over night fix. You do not wake up from anesthesia with your end result. In reality, your end result is typically 1 year away. Now, you will see improvements before 1 year, but your final result is a year away. Anyone who tells you differently is lying. For my eyelids, between days 1-5 post-op, I was swollen to the point that the normal person, would probably choose to not go out. Days 6 and 7 things were starting to get better. Days 8 and 9, swelling was still progressively reducing and looking good. Day 10 I woke up, looked in the mirror and PANICKED. My left eyelid appeared to be drooped down, covering the upper 1/3 of my iris (the colored part of your eye). It was a Friday, and my surgeon was not in the office. His secretary gave me his private email address, so I could send him a letter and photo to explain what was going on. It was about 2 hours later and I hadn’t received a response yet!! I was so scared that I posted a question and photo on this website, looking for answers. My surgeon got back in touch with me shortly after and was able to reassure me that swelling goes UP AND DOWN. He said come in first thing Monday morning and he will take a look. By the time Monday came, my left eye was already on its way back to normal. I laugh at this now, because that was something I was unfamiliar with and did not expect. I thought the swelling would progressively keep improving, not change from one day to the next. He said since it was looking normal before I went to sleep and then I woke up and it looked worse, that I had probably just slept on it by accident that night. I am writing this the day after that appointment, Tuesday, May 01, 2012, to tell you, he was right. Today my eyes look even again ::sigh of relief:: So now I know, if that happens again, to just stay calm and let the swelling work it course! It takes time people, like I said already; there is no quick fix in plastic surgery. Another thing to cover is the scar. The scar will be hidden in the natural crease of your eye. At first it is going to look “big” relative to your eye. Remember the skin was essentially sliced off with a scalpel, then stitched back together. That is some major trauma for the thin skin of your eyelid, so the scar itself is also going to be tender, red and swollen. The redness goes away in a few days, and the swelling is going to take some time. Over the year following your surgery, the scar should progressively thin out considerably, remember it takes time! Overall, I would highly recommend this surgery to anyone with significant upper eye lid concerns.