Dr. Kenneth Steinsapir: An Expert, an Angel and a Lifesaver

Gosh, where do I start?
This review is a very long and emotional post for me, but I believe that I need to do it as I want to be able to help other people in the same boat; and I need to thank Dr. Kenneth Steinsapir and his staff for all they have done for me. In 2017, I underwent an Asian eyelid surgery that turned out disastrous. Not only was I left with physical and functional issues, my surgeon was flippant and uncaring about my problems. My very real problems. Post surgery, I could not close my eyes completely nor blink properly, which left me with severe dry eyes (which brought on eye pain, tearing, light sensitivity, contact lens intolerance, intense migraines and many other debilitating issues). Aesthetically, my surgeon had left me with asymmetrical, sad and heavy eyelids. Every time I reached out to him (email or in person) about my concerns, he was adamant that the swelling and scarring were causing all my functional and aesthetic issues, and to be patient. And so I was patient. I waited 3 months, then 6 months, then a year. The swelling improved and the scarring healed, but my eyelids were still thick and heavy, the creases too high. My almond eyes were now lifeless. I lost my sense of identity. But my aesthetic problems were nothing compared to the pain and severe dryness I was still experiencing.
I could not work, I could not go out and socialize, I could not face the outside world anymore. I spiralled into a deep depression and my mind went to dark places. The migraines and eye problems I was having pushed me into a further depression. I felt abandoned by my surgeon. I ended up having to go see a therapist, and multiple eye doctors (who all said they couldn't do anything for me. Eventually, I built up the courage to seek help again. And that's how I found Dr. Steinsapir. I spoke to previous patients of his I found on Realself, did tons on reading and research on his expertise, and compared him to other renowned surgeons. My gut feeling told me to go with Dr. Steinsapir.
I called the office and scheduled a consult. I spoke to Faith, the office manager, and I cried my eyes out talking to her. She spoke so kindly and calmly to me, and she really empathized with the trauma I have been through. She assured me that Dr. Steinsapir has seen many, many patients who've had their eyes butchered by previous surgeons, and she understood my pain. I made the difficult yet easy decision to fly to LA for the consultation. It was difficult, because I was emotionally and financially drained. It was easy, because my gut feeling told me to trust Faith and Dr. Steinsapir. The consult was very pricey, but it is worth every penny. The doctor spends HOURS with you, and does a very comprehensive examination of your eyes.
At the consultation, Dr Steinsapir spent about 2 hours with me. After a very comprehensive physical examination of my eyes, he even talked to me about the mental toll the previous surgery had taken on me (something that no one else will understand, unless you've been through something like that), and came up with an action plan for me. He did not push for me to have a revision with him immediately, which I really appreciated. You have to understand why the consult is so expensive; Dr. S has to block off at least 3 hours to spend time with you. The consultation fees is then applied to your surgery should you choose to go ahead with Dr. Steinsapir. I knew after my consult that I was going to get my revision done with him. Faith stayed in constant contact with me since the beginning of our interaction; she was nurturing, reassuring, kind and motherly. She also means business when necessary. She will be very strict with you about certain things (e.g. getting your bloodwork in on time, avoiding certain foods pre-surgery, etc), but she is always there for you when you need her. Every time I emailed her with questions and concerns (which I did a lot), she would get back to me as soon as she could. She would call me a lot too, to make sure my concerns were taken care of.
On November 1st, I flew to LA for the surgery. The days following the surgery were some of the most stressful of my life. I was scared, severely scarred and traumatized by my previous experience. I thought of all kinds of worst case scenarios that could go wrong. The moment I saw Dr. Steinsapir and Faith on my pre-op appointment, I felt better. Dr. Steinsapir spent another few hours with me going over my concerns and his action plan; he was honest with me, informing me that he did not want to guarantee 100% improvement. My previous surgeon had damaged my eyelid to a such an extent that Dr. Steinsapir could only restore it back to a certain degree. I was desperate for any amount of improvement, and I trusted him.
Till today, I am SHOCKED at how easy and smooth the surgery went. The entire team including the anesthesiologist and nurses helping Dr S with the surgery were incredible; they chatted with me like I was family, assured and nurtured me before, during and after the surgery. I was completely comfortable, despite being terrified. After the surgery, Faith fed me apple juice and bananas. I cried from the level of care I got, night and day to what I had received from my previous surgery.
It has been about 3 months since my revision surgery with Dr. Steinsapir. Cosmetically, I am FLOORED by how much better I look. When I saw Dr. Steinsapir, it had been about a year since the disastrous first surgery. At a year post surgery, I still looked butchered and swollen, like the surgeon had just carelessly drawn 2 lines and cut through it. At merely 3 months with the revision surgery with Dr. Steinsapir, I already look 10000x better and prettier. My eyes are no longer lifeless, asymmetrical and heavy. And it's only 3 months! Eyelid surgery take a whole year to completely heal. I cannot wait to see the final look when everything heals and settles properly. Functionally, my eyes are still dry, but my blink has improved and my eyelids don't feel so tethered or tight anymore. I am hoping that with time, it will keep improving and get more comfortable.
My first surgery was one of the most traumatic experiences in my life. I am still experiencing the after effects of that trauma, and I am not completely healed. But Dr. Steinsapir, Faith and their whole team has played a pivotal part in helping me slowly regain my life. There are days where I still get extremely depressed and regretful of my first surgery, but I am slowly stepping back into society. And I cannot express my gratitude enough to Dr. Steinsapir and his team. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
P.S. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or doubts about Dr. Steinsapir and my experience with his team. Surgery, especially a revision surgery to repair a disastrous previous surgery is a huge decision. It is daunting. It is terrifying. You feel like you cannot trust any surgeons anymore. I certainly felt that way. It took me months and months of research and reaching out to other people on Realself for me to take the leap.