Five years ago, I had a face/neck lift, lateral brow lift and lower conjunctival blepharoplasty w/fat pad repositioning. Right after surgery, my under eyes looked worse. The shape changed, at the outer corners, and when I smile, the skin bunches up much more than before. I expressed my concerns immediately and repeatedly at follow-ups but was met with gaslighting. I initially thought I was getting a skin pinch, but post-surgery realized that wasn't the plan and I was not a candidate. At my final visit, when a resident asked about it, my surgeon called it a "horrible idea." At that point, I chose not to return. I thought the extra skin bunching was the main issue behind the eye shape change but now I suspect it's more related to the original surgical technique, particularly the fat pad repositioning and retractor resetting. I’m also now realizing that the fat may have been transposed too low below the tear trough, leaving me hollow above and with too much volume below. It creates a double contour that looks unnatural, especially when I smile. I am a thin person, and the added volume in the midface, especially during smiling, looks unbalanced and unnatural and seems to create even more undereye bunching, like the fat was put in the wrong place. I don’t feel like myself. I’d be grateful for any insight or guidance from experienced surgeons or patients. I just want to feel like myself again when I look in the mirror or in pictures.
