Eyelid Surgery - DermaMed Dr Faizal Anwar - Absolute Disaster - Camberwell, AU

I saw Dr Faizal Anwar at DermaMed for an initial consult with the idea of having blepharoplasty, due to excess skin on my upper eyelids compromising my vision and appearance. What I didn’t know then, that I know now, is that a brow lift would have solved my problem and had a better outcome. He said I definitely needed a blepharoplasty and an appointment was arranged.

I had the procedure and I healed quickly with no bruising and the swelling went down quickly. However, as the swelling went down I discovered a crease in my right eyelid – a line going vertically from the existing crease. I e-mailed DermaMed about this and they told me to come in. Dr Faizal did a ‘touch-up’ on the spot, and I was sent home to heal again.

The crease did not disappear, and I was very distressed. I was too embarrassed to go out in public without dark glasses on. I e-mailed again after several weeks, and was told to come in for laser re-surfacing, which was ‘guaranteed’ to remove the crease. The e-mails were always very impersonal and didn’t directly comment on what I’d said.

The crease did eventually go, but more creases appeared and the shape of my eyes changed. Instead of a smooth round look to the crease in my upper lids, my eyes developed a ‘triangle’ shape, with an obviously huge amount of skin showing in the eyelid on the inside corner of each eye. It was unsightly. I complained, and was called in for another session of laser, this time to tighten the skin.

During this procedure the Dr got busy and left me for approximately two hours with numbing cream on my eyelids. They were stinging, and the nurse irrigated them twice, but left me alone for a further 45 minutes. The numbing cream seeped into my eyes and unbeknownst to me, was burning them. The Doctor came and did the procedure, and on the way home (I had a driver), my eyes started to really hurt, closed up, and became light-sensitive, with tears constantly falling from both. Once home I took pain killers, but the pain only got worse and I ended up calling the ambulance and being rushed to hospital. I was in hospital emergency for 6 hours while they tried to diagnose the problem and ease my pain. It was extremely distressing. They said that I had chemical burns from the numbing cream; my eyes were ulcerated, and that I might not get my vision back. I saw an eye specialist the next day who concurred. It was a 10/10 on the pain scale, and she said I wouldn’t be standing if it wasn’t for the Endone, a very strong pain killer.

I couldn’t open my eyes for many days, but eventually they opened, but were very painful and scratchy. I had to use cortisone drops for a month. I still can’t go outside without dark glasses on due to the photo-sensitivity.

When I wrote to DermaMed about this they ignored my e-mail.

Meanwhile the look of my eyes was getting worse. I now have a second crease above each eyelid crease, and that terrible triangle shape is worse. My eyes look sunken in. I have three times as many wrinkles as I did before. I look old and tired and ugly. I got on this forum and asked plastic surgeons if it could be fixed, and they all suggested a brow-lift and fillers, which I found out will cost at least $7,000! I e-mailed DermaMed about this and they haven’t responded.

My eye sight hasn’t improved entirely, and I have lost my middle-distance vision and now have to wear glasses all the time. My eyelids are so tight from all the laser that I cannot close them properly, which means that as a photographer I can no longer do my job, because I can’t squint to look through the viewfinder of the camera. The lids feel tight and uncomfortable all the time. I am permanently damaged. I am hiding out and have no life, because I am too embarrassed to let anyone see how I look. Those who have seen have made comments like: ‘You don’t look like you any more’, ‘you look 10 years older’, ‘you should get tinted glasses and wear them all the time’, and so on. I’m utterly devastated.

If anyone out there is considering using this company and this doctor for this type of procedure or any other, please think twice! This has been one of the WORST experiences of my life. Everyone used to comment on how beautiful my eyes were and now they are ruined FOREVER.

Five months after surgery and my eyes look worse than ever. No word from DermaMed or Dr Faizal Anwar - they don't care and wont take responsibility. I have to wear dark glasses everywhere I go. This has been and continues to be a dreadful nightmare, which has ruined my life.

I have since seen three ocular plastic surgeons and would you believe none of them can help me? One almost operated to give me a double ptosis repair, but the operation fell through... I'm diabetic and in order to have a general anaesthetic, I had to fast, and if a diabetic fasts, they cant take their injections, thus the blood sugar rises . He had put me in as first patient of the day initially, but on the day put me in second. So there I sat in gown and cap etc, waiting to be operated on, but 2 hours later it was a write-off. He blamed me for my blood sugar being so high, and we didn't part on good terms. Seems I just can't win! Another surgeon I saw said that the ptosis repair would have been a disaster anyway, and would have worsened the problem. The most difficult aspect of this is that the original surgeon took away too much skin and all the fat. Too much skin gone means I can't have a brow lift to soften the appearance of the new wrinkles under my eyes. I found a good surgeon interstate who suggested fillers, but doesn't do them himself, so has handballed me onto someone else. Meanwhile I keep having to pay exorbitant consult fees, and I'm getting nowhere. I'm a bit concerned about synthetic fillers because I tend to be allergic to a lot of things, and would prefer fat grafting. So this new surgeon will probably refer me to someone who does fat grafting. It feels like the Never Ending Story. I just want the matter resolved, and to look a bit more normal so I'm not embarrassed to be seen and can look at myself in the mirror without puking. I still can't believe, one mistake of choosing the wrong surgeon has cost me nearly a whole year of misery. I'll let you know what happens after I see this new guy, but that's not till the middle of December.