Epicantoplasty failed. What can I do to help this? (Photo)

It is an unfortunate paradox of upper eyelid surgery that the time when patients are most acutely focused on evaluating the results of their procedure is also the period when such an assessment is most difficult.  The eyelids have the thinnest skin in the human body, and are therefore the anatomic area that is most prone to significant distortion from even small amounts of swelling.  An understanding of this fact is especially important in attempting to evaluate the result of an Asian double eyelid surgery or a medial epicanthoplasty, where success or failure is judged by a difference of just a millimeter or two.  In your own case, one prediction can be made with certainty: no matter how things look at two weeks postop, they will change, sometimes quite significantly, over the ensuing months.  Of course, having so recently endured the emotional rollercoaster of facial aesthetic surgery, patients quite naturally feel a strong compulsion to exhort their surgeons to immediately address any perceived imperfections or asymmetries in their immediate postoperative result in a definitive manner.  The experienced surgeon will resist these entreaties, and focus instead on trying to calm and reassure the patient.  Most asymmetries and small imperfections can be improved, and often significantly corrected, if enough time is allowed for the tissues to heal, and for a more judicious evaluation of the surgical result before embarking upon a revision. While there is no absolute fixed time for such an assessment, it is usually around the time of six months after the initial surgery. My advice to  you is to try to relax and let things heal and evolve. There will be ample time and opportunity for revision if it is indicated.

Your concerns are quite common for patients undergoing this type of surgery.  My best recommendation, (although difficult) is to have some patience.  I tell my patients that the first month after DES and epicanthoplasty surgery, patient will see almost daily changes to the eyelid shape.  Also patients early on after surgery will also without a doubt have asymmetries.  Frequents visits with your surgeon to voice your concerns are the best recommendations I can give to ensure that your healing is appropriate and also it may alleviate some of your concerns.

2 weeks is too early to tell any final result whatsoever. Be in continuous touch with your surgeon, he/she will walk you through the recovery process.
Wish you the best in your journey,
Dr Leo Kim, Specialist Plastic Surgeon in Sydney

at two weeks postop, your eyelids are swollen and you cannot see your final result. Give yourself time to heal and if these issues persist, discuss them with your surgeon.

Hi c856lie,Since you just had your epicanthoplasty done 2 weeks ago, it will not be justified to evaluate the result at this point. It will be best to wait for 3-6 months for final evaluation. Any asymmetry can be corrected then if you want.