Over the past year, I have seen Dr. Geroulis for mole removal, otoplasty (ear pinning) and botox. Everyone in his office has been both professional and friendly. More importantly, they are always on time! Here are my thoughts on the three procedures: I first had him remove some moles from my face. This may seem like a simple procedure, but a few were incredibly deep. Despite the challenge, he expertly removed them so that the scars are nearly impossible to see – even up close. This past summer, I underwent otoplasty. I originally had my ears pinned back years ago by another doctor who did not do a very good job. Dr. Geroulis was able to both remove the excess scar tissue left behind and perform the procedure as it should be done. The entire process, from consultations through operation and recovery was comfortable and smooth. I felt like he and his staff listened to my concerns and desires. Best of all, the results speak for themselves – my ears are now tucked back in a most natural manner allowing people to focus on my face first. After successful surgical experiences with Dr. Geroulis, I recently tried using him for Botox injections. Previously, I had injections at the dermatologist office. I am blown away by the difference his expertise makes in something so seemingly simple. He knows exactly where to place the injection and how much to use to effect a natural, relaxed look.
I wanted to contribute to a wonderful community that gave me the information the courage and guidance to achieve something that was frankly VERY difficult on all levels - emotional, physical and mental . My motivations were pure vanity I'll put that upfront . At 42, it became apparent that I was not at all comfortable with the now visible signs of aging in my face. I wanted to stop the clock as soon as possible. I had spent a great deal of time researching and interviewing doctors for what I thought would be a Liposuction procedure for stubborn fat that always persisted under my chin. I thought this would also address the slight jowling that was beginning to develop. It wasn't until consult # 3 informed me that lipo alone would not address this issue and that I would be looking at a facelift. It seemed drastic to me at first but further research led me to understand that this was indeed what I would require. After much deliberation what contributed most to my decision to move forward with that I would get a 10 - 15 year ride off of these results accompanied by an upper bleph. I will not rehash all of the pre-operative and immediate post op experiences as there is plenty of that available. I would like to instead share where I am now 2 1/2 months post op. Updated on 14 Jun 2016: Before and after pix of problem areas. Very pleased with eyes as I had no visible eyelids previously. At 2.5 months: -Still have very slight discomfort when sleeping on side of my face -lots of itching on cheeks and in ears -85% sensitivity has returned. I hope this continues to improve, but it would be an acceptable trade off if it didn't -scars on eyelids and ears sometimes have a very slight discomfort or soreness. I wouldn't necessarily use the word pain. -scar under chin from lipo is still too noticeable for my satisfaction- doc says it will continue to diminish and I have and am still using the silicone gel -ear, temple and eye scars are virtually unnoticeable Updated on 14 Jun 2016:
Dr. Geroulis far exceeded my expectations in revision upper eyelid repair surgery, done by an occuloplastic surgeon years ago. The original surgeon had left me with asymmetry, a lot of scar tissue, extra skin, and fat that should have been removed. It also appeared one eye didn't close all the way while asleep. I had consulted with 2 other cosmetic surgeons and even 2 "top" occuloplastic surgeons, all who had turned me away and said my case was too risky and inoperable. Being a Chicago native, I had heard Dr. Geroulis' name before, but when I saw his work pop up on Realself.com, I felt I should consult with him ASAP. During the consultation, Dr Geroulis will not just tell you what you want to hear. He will be honest about what can be done and is modest in making promises. I respect that! I also had a hunch that I would be very pleasantly surprised, based on his confidence, experience and expertise, along with the before/after a I saw of other patients. Both the downtown office and Northfield surgical center are pristine and beautiful. The staff and surgical team were all very friendly, professional, and caring. Vanessa is great and will help walk you through preparing for your surgery and aftercare in a clear and concise manner. Wait time was never long for any time I was in the office. A lot of times I was early! I was kept comfortable, with warm blankets during the couple hour surgery and recovery has been a breeze so far. I am nearly a week post-op and can already see such a major difference in both the aesthetics and functionality of my eyelids. I already have the highly coveted "bedroom eyes" that I wanted and look years younger! Dr. Geroulis is a kind and compassionate professional with an eye for aesthetic balance and has saved my eyes when even an occuloplastic surgeon (3 of them!) could not. I could not be happier and would recommend him to anyone considering facial cosmetic surgery. Especially when considering your eyes. Updated on 5 Jan 2016: Can't wait to get the rest of the stitches out! 3 more days! I will post again at that point. Everything is looking good. My Dr. was very pleased with his results. I know my case was very complex, so seeing the happiness on his face with his own results gave me a great sense of satisfaction, myself. I just KNEW it was a huge success then! Updated on 5 Jan 2016: Such an enormous difference already!! Updated on 5 Jan 2016: The price I posted was approximate. This was the cost for the revision since its a more complex procedure than for eyes that have not been previously operated on. The initial surgery was performed by Dr. Pritikin, an occuloplastic surgeon. The fee listed includes the surgeon's revision fee, anesthesia, post-op visits, and aftercare. Updated on 7 Jan 2016: I get the rest of my stitches out tomorrow. The nurse sent my before photos to me today and I am just astounded by the difference. Good Lord, this Dr is a GODSEND!!! Updated on 8 Jan 2016: Just woke up from a nap in this pic. Under flourescent lighting, sorry. Also, overdid my carb intake yesterday so today my face is a little puffy. Still looks good! The swelling is alternating now before finally going away. Typical for me. The small bump near the right inner corner was where a stitch was dug out. It will even out. I'm a little scabby, but that's fine. I see the Dr again on Monday. He wants to monitor me closely due to the fact this was a complex revision and he wants to be sure the incisions heal correctly. That would be my 3rd post op visit in les than 2 weeks. Now tell me this Dr doesn't care?! :) Updated on 11 Jan 2016: I did another follow up today. I got a couple shots of kenalog to the right eye that had just a tad more swelling. I saw instant results. I have mascara and a bit of liner on just the lower lids. Looking fabulous! Updated on 11 Jan 2016: Updated on 14 Jan 2016: Like the fact that my hidden puncta gland (the little fleshy thing at the inner corners of the eyes) is now visible! You couldn't see them before because there was so much fat and tissue hanging over my eyes. It gave my eyes before a strange, pinched almond shape at the inner corners. It also interfered with my tear production. I would fluctuate between dry eyes and excessive tearing. Neither of which are issues anymore. My eyes are so comfortable despite it only being a little over 2 weeks post op. I believe I do still have a buried suture or forming a milia in the right side, which is common. I'm not too worried about it. Just happy to have big, expressive eyes now and contact lenses that wont fly up with my lids when I blink, due to the excess tissue and malpositioned creases from before. Updated on 21 Jan 2016: I was cleaning last night and came in contact with an irritant, so I'm a tad swollen and watery this morning. Eyes are still looking good, regardless. We are done with the watchful period and I don't need another follow up until mid February. There was a suture that had come apart during the first week, from the excess swelling, (especially from the bad reaction I had to the steroid) so we are hoping the one area on the left inner corner doesn't scar badly. If it does, we can revise with fillers or a quick scar revision. Still so much better than before surgery! Updated on 21 Jan 2016: I am alternating between Aquaphor, vitamin E oil (50K iu's), Colloidal Silver gel, and kelocote for softening and healing the scars. It is already working nicely. :) Updated on 15 Mar 2016: I had posed a question to RS and several Dr's regarding fat transfer and fillers for upper eyelid hollowing, to no avail. At least in my area, however, there are several Dr's in Los Angeles who perform this procedure. After all of the swelling had subsided from the previous surgery, I noticed a lot of hollowing on the right upper lid area. The left was the worse of the 2 before surgery, now corrected, but it seems I've traded one issue for another. There are no Dr's in Chicago who are comfortable or experienced enough with fat transfers or fillers to the upper eyelids. If you search realself on upper lid fillers, you will even see that many Dr's argue amongst themselves on the safety and effectiveness of upper eyelid fillers. I, however, have had this procedure performed before with restylane and it does work. However, it is temporary and you do risk more scar tissue from the cannula used to inject multiple times. The filler should address the issue, nonetheless. Unfortunately, the majority of Dr's skilled in performing this technique are in LA. Updated on 20 Jan 2017: It's been a while! I have since gone to LA to get restylane injected to the right upper lid hollowing. Apparently, the steroid injection at my last post-op visit was the culprit for the excess hollowing. The aesthetic appeal has been restored, however, the functional issues remain as I have residual left eyelid retraction from the original surgery by Dr. Pritikin. And now slightly more ptosis in the right upper eyelid. I have a surgery date to address the scarring retraction coming up. Will keep you updated!
Dr. Recommendation. I've had several procedures with Dr. G. He is a subtle and highly talented surgeon and you come out looking natural and refreshed. He has worked on some pretty famous people that just look great afterward. His staff is friendly and helpful and he is warm and personable. He checks up on you frequently after surgery. I was very pleased. If you want the best, that's Dr. G.
I'm a 46yo professional man. I am in decent shape, and I still look pretty young, but I had developed really bad bags under my eyes. In my case it was hereditary. My father had them. I was frequently told by friends and coworkers that "You look tired." I hated hearing that. I wasn't tired. But I looked like it. After reading about the different kinds of surgery options for under-eye bags, I bit the bullet and saw a plastic surgeon in Northfield, Illinois (Chicago suburb) who specializes in eyelid surgery done from inside the lower eyelid area, leaving absolutely no scars on the outside and removing no skin (unless there's way too much extra). I had never had any form of surgery and this was not dramatic or painful. I had very little bruising under my eyes afterward, just some minor swelling. I took four days off work to recover and to let the swelling go down, but I felt fine during that time, no problems driving or anything, and it was not unsightly. I went to a party on the fourth day. No pain. Even though the bags are completely gone, I don't look completely different - just a lot better. I don't look like i've had "work done" or anything like that. I just don't look tired. I WISH I HAD DONE THIS TWO YEARS SOONER. It made a big difference to me in the way I feel about my appearance. I was so self conscious about my eyes. Now I don't think about them at all and nobody says I look tired. In all, it costs about $5k and it was well well worth it to me. I am very glad I did this.
the procedure was easy - recovery time only a week: but I was never told that if my skin elasticity was poor that I couldnt get a clean tight look. This should have been told prior to the lift. The turgor was (or wasn't) there prior to the procedure. Make sure you ask your doctor how you will look after your procedure!
I am not happy with the results of my eyelid surgery. I have a hollow eyes look after the surgery. I looked so much better before the surgery. Not sure why this doctor charges twice as much as other doctors. I would NOT recommend this doctor!
R U N ....YES Run as fast as you can!! Can't believe this guy is still practicing medicine. Did my surgery 30 years ago and my life hasn't been the same. Prior to surgery he said there was enough cartilage inside the nose. But unbeknownst to me he put tutoplast (cartilage from a cadaver inside my nose). Been to the best plastic surgeons in Chicago, Dallas and the Mayo clinic and have been told the tutoplast can't be removed. You can clearly see by looking at me that something is under the skin. Geroulis won't be see me now and has banned me from coming on the premises. He even had the Northfield police contact me. The police informed me that if I show up I will be trespassing. My childhood friend is an attorney who represents plastic surgeons. He told me over 10 years ago that he had the most lawsuits against him. If he gave me millions of dollars it wouldn't help, so no I haven't sued him. There must still be lots of disgruntled patients because they record all calls. Once he does the surgery and gets the money..he's gone. He might be paying google to take down reviews. To be in business for over 30 years and have only 80 reviews? Love yourself and nothing is as good as the original parts. I do forgive Geroulis for lying to me and pushing me to have unnecessary surgery. Even though I went to about 12-13 doctors prior to him and he was the only one who convinced me to have surgery. I just want to make sure no one else makes the same mistake I did.
I had 2 syringes of Juvederm XC injected into my lips on Tuesday, today is Sunday 4 days later and I am still swollen, bruised and num in my lower left lip. I’m having pain all the way through my to my jaw and my tongue. I went back to the doctor and he said everything was fine and he prescribed a steroid..... Is that normal protocol? Updated on 8 Oct 2018: Updated on 1 May 2019: I went to see Dr. Anthony Geroulis for lip filler. Seeing that he is a plastic surgeon I felt very comfortable in doing so. HUGE MISTAKE! I have beautifully shaped lips that have lost volume as I’m getting older. I went to Dr. Geroulis because I once worked in the same building and was familiar with his office. When I made my appointment I mentioned how I was referred there (second huge mistake), make a long story short when I went to my appointment Dr. Geroulis mentioned something personal that I thought was super weird, (gossiping in the building about patients, doesn’t that violate HIPPA?)I should have ran out of there! I showed him a pic of what my lips used to look like and he immediately told his assistant that I needed 2 syringes of Juvederm. I was a little shocked that I would need 2 syringes but he’s the doctor so I agreed. Once he started to inject I thought he was being a little rough, he was jamming the syringe into my lip so hard I could feel where the needle met the tub being jammed into my lip. After he was done he turned to his assist and said, verbatim “vascular occlusion go get her some ice and watch her for 20 minutes!”. My lower lip immediately bruised. Because I did not do enough research on issues that may arise I thought everything was fine. I went home but took pics throughout the day and following weeks which I have attached. I was very numb for the remainder of the day and a little uncomfortable but I did just get injection so I thought it was normal.(third mistake) I woke up at 2:00am in serious pain! I emailed the office knowing they wouldn’t see it until the next day, I seriously wanted to chop my own head off from the amount of pain I was in. In the morning I went back I the office and Dr. Geroulis took a needle and stuck it into my lip (I have no idea why or what that would do) I asked him if this is a vascular occlusion and he said NO, he told me to make another appointment to come back in a week and I left. After a trip to immediate care, a trip to my primary care physician and the emergency room the next few days I was mentally and physically exhausted, I missed 2 weeks of work. This continued on for a couple of weeks, my lip looked like it was starting to die. The skin blanched, bled, scabbed it was a nightmare! My regular doctor asked that I request my records, I called the office and asked the receptionist to send them to me, later Dr. Geroulis phoned and said he’ll give them to me in a month when I go back there for a check up. I called my doctors office and they themselves call Geroulis’ office and finally got him to send a copy to me and to my doctor. As I read the notes I saw that they were completely fabricated (I have email correspondence with his office that will substantiate that his notes are fabricated) I was SHOCKED! Now I have nerve damage and it is apparent but it could have been worse, I could have lost my lip, my chin or even worse all because he’s not properly trained or he didn’t want to waste the Hyaluronidases on me. Do your research before seeing Dr. Anthony Geroulis!
The problems I want to fix on my eyes: -crease height increase -asymmetry -eyes don't close all the way when sleeping -crease definition that highlight my eyes I had my original lid surgery 6 years ago, by a board-certified opthalmologist as well as an oculoplastic surgeon. I found him only because a doctor referred me to him for this procedure. I was young then and thought that I had done enough research. He "said" he performs the double eyelid procedure on "asian" clients, but the truth was even though he specialized in the eye and plastic surgery of the eye, he lied (to this day, his site has NOTHING about his ability to perform asian double eyelids). As you can see from my pictures, they were done horribly. The funny thing was, immediately after - and I'm talking 1 week after- I noticed the assymetry and weird creases on the inner corners of my eyes even with so much swelling. For the right eye, at the time, as the crease begins from the inner corner, there was a double fold that eventually disappeared if you look at my pic now (the crease looks like it begins only from the middle of my eye outwards). For the left eye, again with the crease beginning from the inner corner, the height of the crease was much bigger but had a double fold there too that eventually my eye decided it wanted to go with the lower fold which resulted in an odd looking crease. Look closely at my left eye and you'll see what I mean. I asked him about the obvious inconsistencies and of course the default answer was to wait until the swelling went down. At 3 months post-op, even though my lids were still slightly swollen, the apparent asymmetry and height were essentially what it is now. I went back to him and he praised me (himself essentially) that it was "good". I told him I didn't like it. He said let time pass. Time has passed. They look horrible still. -_- I have only myself to blame- he could show me only 3 total photos of his asian clients and I jumped at the possibility because I wanted to get the procedure done soooo bad. I didn't want to fly out of state at that time and wanted convenience. Looking back now, so many mistakes made. He was impersonal, didn't really take the time to hear about ME. About what I want. He was evasive with my concerns. Once the money got paid, any sort of rapport I felt with him dissipated. Anyways!!! It is done and over with and I want to get a revsion done. I started my research process all over again. This is how I came across this site and I was hoping to find others in the same boat I'm in. I *think* I have found the doctor who I want to perform the revision- Dr. William P Chen in Long Beach, CA. I am super scared and apprehensive that I'll just be disappointed again. I don't believe this doctor is a part of realself.com and so I'm hoping to hear from the community either about him or other doctors who have done REVISIONS. I plan to have a consult with Dr. Chen soon but I've gone through this process before and the more feedback about potential surgeons I could see the better. ******And to anyone who is considering this procedure for the first time, here is one thing I recommend : make sure to ask to see their galleries containing pictures of patients that are more than 6 months post-op AND smiling. I am unhappy with my lid height (too small) and when I smile, it's almost like, "did I even have eyelid surgery?!" Ok, I KNOW some of you want the "natural" look and that's great! Me, I want to be able to smile and STILL SEE MY LIDS! I want to be able to put on my eyeliner AND STILL SEE MY LIDS. Please don't misunderstand- I do not want "western" eyes. I only want what will enhance my eyes and what im paying for: double lids! Ok I'm really looking forward to feed back- either way I will be documenting my experience here once I make my decision. *side note* I don't remember how much I actually paid. Updated on 10 Nov 2013: Another tip for you guys out there looking into eyelid surgery for the first time and can't quite tell the height of the crease relative to the person in the pic--Look at the upper lash line. I remember when I first looked at hundred of pictures, some crease heights were pretty obvious, others looked "okay". Then after I got mine done AND waited until they were completely healed.. then I could see how "high" they really were. Mine are very small and disappear with makeup and smiling- something I explicitly got this surgery for! So here is a recap of the problem areas: Right eye: -crease seems to begin from mid-eye outwards - causes my eye to take on a weird shape when smiling -I forgot to mention this in the original post, but as the crease tapers towards the outer corner of the eye, it curves downwards vs the left eye where the crease shape is parallel to the eye (imagine when I try to do a cat eye for going out: FAIL) Left eye: -weird skin folding on the inner corner of the eye - it causes my eyes to take on a triangle-ish shape when smiling BOTH: -eyes don't close all the way when sleeping -both lids are very small and I wanted them bigger ***And sorry for the hideous eyebrows, LOL!! I'm growing them out plus I haven't groomed them in the pics. Updated on 10 Nov 2013: Updated on 12 Nov 2013: So I mentioned in my first post that I had contacted Dr. Chen of Long Beach- since then, I've made contact with Dr. Chase Lay of San Jose and Dr. Charles Lee of Beverly Hills. Here's what I like about each so far: Dr. Chen--- Pros: most amount of experience, specializes only in asian eyelids, reasonable prices, free consultation and quick response to emails. Cons: supposedly "conservative" with eyelids (I'm looking more into a bigger lid) , little feedback from anyone on the internet :( (could be my problem of course) Dr. Lay--- Pros: facial plastic surgeon that specializes in asian faces, reasonable prices, staff responds quick to emails Cons: consultation is not free, least amount of experience Dr. Lee--- Pros: responded personally to emails, free preconsultation photo evaluation, has youtube videos with personal testimonials, can make lids bigger for those who want it Cons: has had good and negative reviews So this is where I'm at..... what do I do??? aaaaah!!! :( And there's still so many more surgeons out there who seems just as capable! h.e.l.p. !!! I'm going to have to make a decision soon. Updated on 18 Nov 2013: I decided to go with Dr. Lee in Beverly Hills. He was quick with responses, answered my questions in detail (not just an over arching generalization) and has made me feel the most comfortable handing over my eyes. So far, the staff has been very helpful over the phone and patient with my many questions and phone calls. I think I called there 5 times in one day lol. Another perk for me is they offer a one bedroom apartment for $200 for 6 days-- yes for the total 6 days I pay one price!!!!!!!! This says to me they really do think about their out of town clients. There's the plane tickets (my bf is coming with), food, and transportation costs to consider aside from he surgery itself. Anyways!! I still have to do an official consultation, although I have to say a lot of my main concerns and questions were answered by Dr. Lee already. I have confidence in his a ability and his skills to create the result that I want in harmony with my face. So. Excited. Can't. Wait. !!!! Updated on 4 Jan 2014: So!!! I'll start with my surgery experience yesterday. I had had nothing to eat or drink midnight. Because I was from out of town, I scheduled my consultation an hour before my surgery. I got to the office at 10:00 and was immediately greeted by the front desk. The lobby was smaller than I expected but clean, modern, well-decorated. I went in for my consultation right away and finally met the doctor himself! It's kind of a weird feeling when you do research for 2 months and watch every video there is about him and then all of a sudden finally see him in person! Anyways, I asked a few questions because I wanted to see how honest and genuine his answers would be. He made me feel confident in his ability and skills and that was pretty much it. If you are considering Dr. Lee, you'll know that his website offers almost everything you need to know about eyelid surgery (I obviously didn't look at any other procedures he offers FYI). Becauese a lot of questions had been answered during our email conversations, the consultation didnt last very long- I think it was over by 10:30 and surgery was scheduled at 11:00. I came back out to the lobby and began the long process of filling out paperwork - I wanted to wait until after I spoke with Dr. Lee before signing anything (my preference). After signing my life away, lol, I was lead into the back, to a bathroom where I changed into a gown- no shirt or bra, but was able to wear undies and my jeans I came in. They have you put on Ted stockings (compression device) and non-skid socks. I had to pee into a cup for a pregnancy test (standard testing). Then I was lead into a room where an IV was started in my arm, a bag of fluids was hung and I sat back while Dr. Lee started drawing on my eyes. He gives you this eye drop stuff that numbs your eyeballs because be draws on your eyelids over and over again until he feels they're perfect. I of course got a say in how large I wanted the lid and what he was able to do for me. He spent a long time drawing and erasing, drawing and erasing until he felt it was to my preference and (at least what I think) symmetrical. It made me feel better knowing he was being picky. :) After he left the room, I was given a relaxer to help me stay calm for the procedure then was lead into the operating room. Once I was set up, they gave me another sedative while they set up and folks, this is where things get kinda foggy. I was awake for the whole procedure, but boy was I sloooooooooooow as a turtle. I felt sluggish, time didnt exist anymore, but I was still able to follow directions like "open your eyes, good, now close your eyes" during the procedure. The nurse said I would feel like I had a glass of wine- she was wrong, I felt like I had 50 glasses, I'm totally not kidding either. I pretty much didnt feel anything until the end of the procedure where they started suturing- I did somewhat feel that. For me personally, it didnt bother me. Anyways once surgery was done and I'm in recovery mode, I felt some nausea come on, but it went away. They bandaged up my eyes and was told to try and leave them on through the night. They helped dress me and put me in a wheelchair. I was thirsty so one of the girls have me a glass of water which I drank from like there was no tomorrow... However, another wave of nausea came on and I broke out into a cold sweat. By then though, I was already being wheeled down stairs to the front where my ride was picking me up. So from that point until now (today is the day after surgery, 7 am) I can only say one thing: I have never ever been miserable in my life. :'''( Remember that nausea that started?? It never went away once I got to the apartment. There was minimal incisional pain so that wasn't the issue- I had severe nausea, threw up twice, dry heaved a bunch of times, terrible headache that never went away, and bad bad dizziness. Of course I was bandaged up so I couldn't see, which made me have motion sickness because I couldn't tell which way was up or down, or if lights were on or off. Lying perfectly still in bed was torture- I felt like I was on this slowly rocking boat, dizzy with every single itty bitty movement and felt like throwing up every singe minute. I had my friend look up the two meds they gave me and these were listed side effects. I'm sensitive to stronger medications, so this didnt surprise me.... Only made me want to shoot myself! Lol. I'm calm about it now because the nausea is finally FINALLY gone, but I still have a lingerig headache and some dizziness. Also, yesterday I couldn't fall asleep for more than 30 mins at a time..... I was awake the whole time. You would think I could have fallen asleep easily with how sedated I was, but the over arching nausea and dizziness kept me awake. When I became hungry at 6pm - I tried eating and that was a disaster. That was one of the times I threw up- I only had a few bites of yogurt. Later, you can imagine how hungry I was- I tried drinking water and that was the other time I threw up. I was so dehydrated, hungry and miserable by late night. I think it was around 9 pm when I was able to have a few sips of juice without throwing up (I was still severely nauseated) and a couple bites of a chicken wrap. I was so tired, all I wanted was to sleep but couldn't, I was shaking because I was so hungry but couldn't eat, and taking the pain medication they prescribed me was out of the question- narcotics also have similar side effects and I was not chancing that. Around 11:30, I finally fell sleep for 4 hours!!!!!!!!! I woke up at 3:30 and thought it was later (my bandages were still and my friend sadly told me to go back to bed because it wasn't time to get up yet lol) I went to bed and woke up around 6 and took off my bandages. I'm very swollen, but I already can't wait to see what they'll look like when they're all healed up!!! I'll write more soon, so exhausted now, here are a couple pictures. Also, whoever you decide to take with you to watch over you (or you can have one of Dr. Lee's nurses for a price), pick someone who will take care of you no matter what happens. Every time I needed to pee, I was so dizzy and nauseous I felt like I could puke my stomach and brains out while walking to the bathroom. They had to hold a doggie bag and hand me toilet paper and guide me from room to room and get me comfortable at all times yesterday. Sorry for any typos! Updated on 5 Jan 2014: Let me first start off by saying I feel a MILLION times better!!!! I never want to go through what I went through the night of surgery ever again! Anyways, I realize I'm having a million different feelings, absolutely no regrets however- but lots of feelings otherwise. I'm going to wait to write them down later because if I try now, this post will end up like the one above- scattered thoughts, grammatical and spelling errors lol and too emotional. So I'm just going to post few more pictures- I also have a small concern about my left eye. You'll see from the pictures, that the left eye's incision as it goes outwards away from the middle of the eye, the crease foods underneath and not with the incision as it does with the right eye. I see Dr. Lee tomorrow morning so I will ask him about that. It worries me because I don't want the crease to be underneath the incision as that happened the first time around. Any feedback about that is welcomed! Updated on 5 Jan 2014: Updated on 6 Jan 2014: So Dr. Lee told me the thing with my left crease is because there are internal and obvious external sutures, they should eventually settle in once the swelling goes down. Today he also took out some sutures and left the rest- I can get it wet starting today! (Although I confess I for it wet by accident last night during my shower already haha). Also, I guess my skin was reacting to the bacitracin so he told me stop using it. Dr. Lee told me he knows now why my first eyelid surgery failed- because I have weaker eye muscles (says people like us make up about 40% of population). He couldn't tell from my pictures before and actually couldn't tell until during surgery when he was having me open and close my eyes that he saw my muscles were weak. He said mine was subtle, and I'm glad he caught it - I really never want to do this eeeever again! Updated on 7 Jan 2014: Bruising is going down :) entering the yellowing phase so I look funny. Can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow! Updated on 8 Jan 2014: Last of the sutures came out today! Woo woo! Dr. Lee says my eyes look really good for day 5 :). Now is truly the time to heal. As you can see from the pictures, the incision is red- normal, but still blah. I have sensitive skin to begin with, so this part is the suckie part for me. Cuts and scratches are always sooo red on my skin. Takes forever for those to go away, so this redness may take a little longer for me than most. Updated on 10 Jan 2014: I missed yesterday because that was travel day. Woke up at 7 am and pretty much didnt get home until 5 pm. Had to make dinner and put things away and by then, was pooped! So, a few things: I havent mentioned it, but since the surgery, I've had pressure-like feeling on my the top of my eyeballs when I try to look up. It feels like the muscles are tight and I'm straining them when I do. Does that make any sense ?? It doesn't hurt, just kind of intense pressure. I did ask Dr. Lee before I left and he said it was from my weak muscles and his trying to make sure the creases wouldn't fall out this time. He told me try using my muscles to get all the fluid out of the muscle in order for the swelling to go down. It's gotten a little better each day. Today is the first day I can look up without giving me a headache afterwards. Anyone else have this issue?? Anyways!! I'm also noticing that on my right eye now as well as on my left, the crease of my lids don't follow the actual crease incision. Crossing my fingers and hoping that when the swelling goes down, everything will just match up. I'm just feeling down about it and have some doubts. Updated on 11 Jan 2014: So from here onwards, I doubt there will be a lot of changes so I won't be posting as many pictures. The pressure feeling I have on my eyeballs and the tightness is lessening each day (whew!). My eyes are still swollen and the incision is red- but remember this is unique to the person. The scars on my left eye are from my previous surgery and not due to Dr. Lee's work- I only wish I went to him the first time :'( As you can see, he had to go above the original incision to make the cut. I haven't figured out how I feel about the epi- so far the incisions are red and annoying to look at lol. Patience right? Also, when I open my eyes, the crease towards the ends of my eyes are still below the actual incision line. Waiting for that to heal too!!!!!! Updated on 11 Jan 2014: Ok so I was playing around with my camera and was taking some pictures when I noticed something about my eyes: the left one looks so off!!!!!!!!!!! OMG I'm freakin out! Obviously swelling can be different in each eye and it is waaaay too soon to be able to tell, but I'm so scared! What the heck happened to my left eye?! Please someone out there tell me this happened to you too and reassure me. I'm now taking a bazillion pictures and freaking out after each one! Lol ... :( Updated on 11 Jan 2014: Updated on 11 Jan 2014: Updated on 12 Jan 2014: So first let me say, I've had two wonderful people giving me kind, supportive and encouraging words- so thank you again!! I was/ am so worried about this however, this has happened to other folks as well. This kind of swelling is not uncommon as it can distort the eye as well as the eyelid so soon after surgery. I AM technically in the first week after surgery so my job at this point is to have patience and wait it out lol. Updated on 20 Jan 2014: Hey guys!!! Life has been busy and full of surprises so sorry haven't updated an a week or more! I'm officially 17 days out from surgery! Woo hoo!! Thanks to my fellow realselfers, I didn't completely fall apart lol. You guys are wonderful and generous enough to share your stories with me! Well, here's some pics to go with this update! The swelling is slooowly but surely going down. The incisions are still very red- I tried once to put on eye shadow and it irritated the incision lines so have only done eyeliner since then. Now remember I have very very very sensitive skin (on top of being asian right?!) so this is mostly unique to me. Other gals have put on make up at this point in their surgery and have been fine. Poor me!! Ugh! So far, I'm still feeling out my epi- again my incisions are red so right now it's hard to like it, lol. The pressure I felt on top of my eyes are completely gone. I still have the issue with my outer creases not lining up with the actually cut incision (I'm really hoping the swelling is causing that). The slant in my left eye is different at different points in the day- which gives me hope that it really is due to swelling. Also, here's one thing I don't think I've touched on here in the public forum: our eyes are NOT symmetrical. We would all love to think they are.. And some very lucky people in the world have very symmetrical features ( ie Denzel Washington, Aishwarya Rai, Natalie Portman) but unlike them, most of us have very slight assymetry present in our eyes, lips, etc. Anyways, when I look at my before pictures, like really analzyed them, my eyes are slightly different shapes. I know on here there are only some for you guys to look at and only 1 w/o makeup where I look head on into the camera but trust me when I say this: my eyes are not symmetrical. So, I'm really hoping the slant in left eye goes away, but now I'm doubting it will ever be 100% gone. As long as it evens out enough where it isn't immediately noticeable, I'm ok with it. In my before pictures, my left eye is ever so slightly slanted as well- look closely. Also, if you haven't already noticed, the incision is made slightly higher on my left eye than my right- because my eyes when opened, are different from each other. As you can see however, the height and lids look the same, so far. I give credit to Dr. Lee for being able to recognize the difference in my eyes! Imagine if the incision was made lower... The left lid would be smaller than my right eye! That would be a mistake some doctors would make because they assume the eyes open up equally. Anyways! At this point really waiting for the swelling and redness to come down. Can't wait! Updated on 23 Jan 2014: Just a quick question to realselfers out there: any suggestions, advice, recommendation on how to improve or help expedite the epi scar healing process??? I know it's early yet in the big picture, but they are quite red and are forming firm little bumps underneath the skin. Thanks! Will post an update soon!
Plexr offers an alternative to invasive surgical cosmetic procedures, reducing recovery time and any complications that can arise before and after surgery. How works: by utilizing the fourth state of matter: Plasma. The system is very precise and doesn’t spread heat to surrounding areas, meaning it is perfect to operate on areas, that are not really suitable for other devices, like radiofrequency scalpels or lasers. Principle: is to ionize the gas particles in the air between its tip and the skin, to form plasma. An electrical arc is created, which results in sublimation i.e. turns a solid straight into gas. Therefore, the results are instant, but also no heat is transferred to the surrounding area. The resultant tissue retraction and tightening (as opposed to removal) gives results that are comparable to the ones seen with invasive surgery. Mainly applications: Lifting, Rejuvenating, Biostimulating and Remodelling CO2 Laser Resurfacing How works: directs short, concentrated pulsating beams of light at irregular skin, precisely removing skin layer by layer. The laser vaporizes skin cells damaged at the surface-level. The newest version of CO2 laser resurfacing (fractionated CO2) uses very short pulsed light energy (known as ultra-pulse) or continuous light beams that are delivered in a scanning pattern to remove thin layers of skin with minimal heat damage. Recovery takes up to two weeks. Mainly applications: reduce wrinkles and skin irregularities, such as blemishes or acne scars. Also used to treat different skin issues including warts, enlarged oil glands on the nose, and other conditions.
