"45 Years Old, with 3 Year Old Twins, Divorced, Ptosis Repair."

My review starts off by my past experience with another surgeon. I unfortunately, had the chickenpox's at the age of 18 which left me with ptosis on my left lid. I was devastated as it seemed to just have happen overnight. My grandmother and I researched to find a specialist. We found a surgeon after a few months, had the proper testing done and consultations and questions answered. A few months later I ended up having 3 separate eyelid surgeries with this surgeon over the next 12 months; the first surgery seemed to not have any results or make a difference in the eyelid droopiness. The second surgery was not successful for reasons I don't know . The third surgery left my lid tolerable to live with but not the outcome I had wanted.

Some years later, In my late 20's, my right eyelid started to weakened and ptosis became apparent in that lid now. I went back to the same doctor and underwent another eyelid repair surgery, this time on the right lid. This surgery went horribly wrong. I was over corrected and my eyelid contracted showing white all around the pupil. I was just getting ready to plan my wedding and this caused a tremendous level of stress. I had to wait 6 months to have the eyelid stretched which for that time period I mostly hid behind sunglasses and or squinted my right eye when talking to people, hoping they didn't notice my deformed eyelid and appearance. At 6 months when the surgery was scheduled, my wedding was 3 months away. I had high hopes that this surgery would loosen the contracted lid and all would be good. Well.... my biggest nightmare happened. The lid was over stretched and now drooped worse than before and I also lost the natural shape of my lid contour. I went into panic mode and had no time to search for second opinions. My surgeon told me I was a rare case and that it would be fixed, but it would have to be after the wedding. I must of cried for days. Depressed, exhausted and preparing for my upcoming wedding was now riddled with additional anxiety of how I would camouflage my lid to get through my wedding day. During this time, my doctor suggested I see a psychiatrists and take medications because I was not handing this well. I was disappointed by this conversation and felt it lacked empathy and compassion for my situation. Yes, maybe medications could have calmed my nerves but the fact was; this was indeed a stressful time not to mention the pain and anguish of having to have repeated surgeries with the last one being a complete failure. I did get through my wedding; unfortunately, most of the pictures were not printable due to the distortion in my lid. I went ahead and did the third surgery after the wedding which helped my lid to a tolerable level, but left it severely changed, wider where it appeared bulgy and it was shaped much differently than my left lid. The same doctor suggested we shorted the length of my eye opening to help the wideness; so we did that surgery too, with mediocre results. I chose to live with it. Looking back, I realize how I should have searched out a second and even third opinion. At that time, the internet was not easily accessed for resources and I was caught up with the belief that I was a rare case. Fast forward to my mid 40's. All that time, I have lived with a knowing that my lids affected my daily life, how I felt about myself when looking in the mirror and the emotional toll it took on me to camouflage with makeup every day. The drawing of the eyeliner thicker on one side, curling the lashes on the one eye only to make it appear wider and the pulling and tension I felt in my right lid in general. I finally decided to set out and open up this dialog again of my lids to see if there was anyone that could help me. Ironically, I was going through a divorce now, my twins were 2 years old and I was trying to put myself back together. I started looking to find the very, very best eyelid surgeon that not only did excellent work but was also experienced in corrective work which I needed since I had already gone through 3 surgeries on the left lid and 4 on the right. I called around, did internet searches, asked tons of questions, read hours of real-self reviews along with other resources. I narrowed my choices down to 2 surgeons, both located in the Los Angeles area. I called the first one and booked a consultation and then called the second. I spoke to a kind, compassionate, incredibly knowledgeable and very personable women; the connection was instant. Faith was whom I spoke to that day and that call changed the direction of my life. I made my appointment to see Dr. Kenneth Steinsapir, Oculofacial and Plastic Surgeon for the following week. From that appointment on, I couldn't be more blessed and confident in the choice of doctor and the incredible team I chose to help me. Dr. Steinsapir's calm and professional mannerism along with the incredible knowledge and informative nature of his explaining things to me was beyond anything I could have expected. After my consultation I came out feeling an enormous burden had been lifted and hope resumed in my overall thought on; I actually could have my lids repaired successfully. I want to emphasize the expertise I experienced in listening to Dr. Steinsapir. After a few appointments of measurements, pictures, discussions and expected outcome results, I was scheduled for surgery. I had a sense of knowing that I was in the best hands possible and the entire team would be there for me, from start to the finish; they proved to do this above and beyond. Dr. Steinsapir is a true pioneer in his field and I believe there is no other doctor that could of given me the results that he did. And yes, a complete success was achieved! Follow ups were easy, instructions and after care explained and all questions answered. I felt 100% taken care of and knew I was blessed to have connected with Faith whom started my life changing journey from that one phone call. I now wake up with a new found confidence, youthfulness, and overall feeling of well-being. No more camouflaging with eyeliner and hiding behind sunglasses. Not to mention the previous strain and tension I felt in my lid is gone. They feel normal and though I was a complicated case, I was absolutely taken care of by Dr. Steinsapir, Faith, Pamela, the nurses and all the staff in the most respectful, consistent, non-judging manner and to be able to have a real conversation and solution about my lids was freeing. Not everyone understands what ptosis can do to a person's confidence. I will be grateful for the rest of my life for the care I received and for discovering a doctor whom actually does not take short-cuts, takes the time he needs for each surgical procedure and excellent follow up care. And did I mention that I finally have a natural crease in my right lid again. A real crease!! Thank you Dr. Steinsapir for changing the quality of my life, the way I feel and an overall sense of well-being; finally feeling like me again. I am forever grateful.