Dr. Guy Massry - Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty - Beverly Hills, CA

I had excess skin on my right upper eyelid. Over the past 10 years, it had gotten progressively more pronounced to the point where it was beginning to impair my vision. Additionally, as an over 40 actor who gets headshots taken every couple of years, I noticed the abnormality gave me a sleepy look in one eye, unless I concentrated on lifting that eyebrow. This distracted me from my work as an actor and affected my self-confidence.

I decided to undergo elective surgery to correct this problem, but not to make any alterations to make me look younger. Both upper eyelids were done to get close to symmetry, with the right one being trimmed more.

The procedure was conducted with local anesthesia, which I preferred, and went extremely well. The thing about local anesthesia, as opposed to general, is that you are awake and aware of what is going on. While you don't feel pain, you can certainly feel the sensation of movement and hear what is being said in the operating room. Because this procedure was done on my eyes, a very delicate and valued body part, I was certainly sensitive and nervous. Being awake, you can't help but tense up to some degree, which could have impaired the doctor's efforts. Some people might do better with general anesthesia if they don't think they can relax at all.

I was in the recovery room for a half hour or so, while the staff gathered supplies and instructed me on what to do over the next couple of weeks - as much time with ice/cold packs as I could bare, high potency vitamin C, arnica and a prescription ointment. The doctor's office had started me on vitamin C and arnica a week in advance to help minimize the bruising and scarring. I was told that I should take it easy for a week, avoiding any strenuous activity and extended exposure to the sun. I was very religious in adhering to their instructions and spent nearly half my waking hours the first 3-4 days on the couch with blue gel packs and gauze on my eyes.

Even on the day of my surgery, I could see decently, but the ointment that I applied to the stitches with a q-tip found its way into my eyes, causing them to blur a bit. I tapered back a little on the cold packs, but continued to baby things and take arnica three times daily. My eyes were initially swollen, but not as badly as I had expected, though my right eye area was more puffy and discolored than the left.

When I went in to have my stitches removed six days after surgery, the doctor was amazed at how little swelling and discoloration there was. The following day, I went on an audition and to acting class and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. I could tell there was a little puffiness, but it didn't look abnormal. The scarring was minimal, with most concealed by the fold of my eyelids. I attribute this to the doctor's skill and my dedicated obedience to the prescribed post-operative care. I am extremely satisfied with the results and know that I made the right choice for the right reasons.