Botched 2 Procedures: Upper Eyelid Surgery and Direct Brow Lift

I’ve been through a lot of turmoil over the past year due to a botched eyelid and brow lift surgery (same-day surgeries) and I am determined to find the right doctor this year no matter how defeated I feel after the experience I’ve been through since the operations. I had an upper blepharoplasty and a direct brow lift (not even necessary but recommended by that doctor) last December (2017). I chose an oculoplastic surgeon with 31 years of experience and thought I was in the best hands. I couldn’t have been more wrong. First of all, I have received so much feedback and information over the past year that I did not understand fully at consultation, mainly the direct brow lift and how horrible of an idea that is. The direct brow lift is not commonly done because of the permanent scarring caused right over the brows. I have heard this from several doctors and I continue to read that much older men with very wrinkled excess forehead skin and bushy eyebrows are the main candidates for this surgery. That makes sense. This is why other doctors have expressed shock that this surgery was even considered for me, a relatively young woman with a smooth forehead and very blond sparse eyebrows! Who does this to someone? I inquired several times about her recommendation for this surgery and she repeatedly told me there would no visible scarring. I even made clear that I will never get tattooed or fake brows because I like to be natural. If I choose to draw them on myself from time to time, that’s my choice, but I was very clear about my lifestyle and expectations. I followed all the “rules” of how to be a good patient and was very honest at the consultation. Both surgeries were botched in different ways and I have been very depressed and saddened by the terrible results after being promised beautiful results and believing in her so deeply. My doctor did not keep the promises she made to me which I will not specify here, but am willing to share privately if asked, because what happened is beyond what I feel comfortable sharing publicly. I can say that at our last visit in May, she made promises she did not keep, she made me feel that I expected too much by saying as much, and was completely unmoved by the emotional pain I discussed having been through. In other words, it was me who was wrong for feeling so disappointed and discouraged. The promises she made kept me from posting anything negative about my experience on here all these months. It is clear now that she never intended to stay true to her word, but just hoped I would go away. I stand by the fact that she refuses to take responsibility for or be accountable for the permanent damage she caused to my eyebrows and eyelids. I couldn’t believe I was being blamed when I did everything in my power to make the surgeries a success, from pre to post op care and scar treatments. I was always respectful and accommodating as well. My entire last year has been stressful, depressing, avoiding people, avoiding sunlight, and my self-esteem hit an all-time low due to my obvious scars and “operated on” appearance. The way I was treated with no compassion by the surgeon who did this to me did not help either. I am at a loss on where to start getting my eyelids revised and the terrible scars from the brow lift revised/improved. There are so many surgeons to sort through. I work long days and get very little time off, so it’s been difficult to find time to research, make decisions, set up consultations, etc. I have been hoping to find someone closer to home because I’m terrified about something going wrong the 2nd time around and not being nearby for any additional work that may be required. Obviously, I wish I had traveled wherever necessary for my original surgery because I’d be living my life and enjoying the results, not stressing about revision surgery and where to start. And all of this due to 2 botched routine surgeries which are performed very skillfully by surgeons all over the country every day. While I know it will be expensive to get this revised (missed work, travel time, and expenses, etc.), it’s time to get this done and move on in my life. I’ve been through so much already. I will need to be very careful. I thought I was the first time. The first pictures attached are before surgery, showing that I had nice healthy eyelids that were perfect for this surgery. The pictures following will show the brow scars (left eye brow much more prominent than the right) and 2 crudely incised bumpy (scarred) eyelids (left lid with excess skin on the outer corner leaving odd-looking skin folds not there before surgery AND puckered, pinched skin). Also, my left outer eyelashes are now pointing downward right on top of the lower lashes. (Have fun putting mascara on that!) I’m angry from all the time I’ve invested in so many ways, money, isolation, pain, lies, and dreams I’ve had to set aside over the last year. No more keeping this to myself.

Hello everyone. I posted quite often during the first 2 weeks post op and at one month. Most of the healing for me up to this point really took place in the first month to a month and a half. I think when you have eyelid/direct brow lift surgery, you get a pretty good idea of how the final results will most likely appear within 2 months after surgery. At least, I feel that way in my particular case. Up until this post, I had taken all of my pictures with no makeup to be as natural as possible.
I decided to take some pictures with eyeliner, mascara, and some eyeshadow this time. If anything, the eye shadow actually accentuates the incision lines and “imperfections” that exist, rather than cover them up as you might have suspected. I did not cover up my brow incision line with much makeup. It is hard to cover up the redness of the incision line and the indentation at this point in my healing process.
I work in the tax field and have been tremendously busy and overwhelmed, so I apologize for not posting at a month and a half and again at 2 months, which was my plan. I hope this update helps. :-)

I am now exactly one month post-surgery. Any swelling, bruising, and tightness have subsided even more since my 21 day check-in, so the brows and eyelid area have started to settle more and are probably beginning to look closer to what the final result will be (except for the scarring I hope, which I am treating daily). I continue to keep my eyelids lubricated with erythromycin and some other natural oils. I am using BioCorneum (and sometimes Mederma PM) on my brow incision lines (and excised mole area).
I see my oculoplastic surgeon for another follow-up in less than 3 weeks, thankfully. I have a couple of questions and concerns. I welcome any comments or opinions about the current “results” of my surgery(s), positive or negative. Thank you. :-)