A subtle change made such a huge difference to my vision

I’ve always had heavy bags above and below my eyes, a hereditary problem, so I’ve been told a lot that I look tired and older than I am from a young age which takes a massive toll on my self-esteem. For that reason, I’ve wanted blepharoplasty from the moment I found out such a thing existed and I’ve been researching the procedure for a long time. I’ve wasted a lot of money on procedures like PRP, Thermage and Tear trough fillers that promised a lot and delivered very little- for me personally. I even went for a surgical consultation with a plastic surgeon closer to home but found him quite blunt and unfriendly and not the right choice for me. Recently I had some time away from work so I started researching plastic surgeons in Sydney and Dr Choy had by far the most 5-star reviews, as much as I looked around, I couldn’t find anyone that had anything bad to say about his work.

I contacted his office and sent through some photos for a phone consultation and his staff were so helpful and accommodating. Once I saw his work and spoke to him I decided I had found the right doctor. After viewing my photos Dr Choy asked a lot of questions to ascertain what I wanted and what my expectations were and in the end suggested 2 options. Upper blepharoplasty under a local anaesthetic performed in his office or upper and lower blepharoplasty performed in hospital. He gave me all the information on both, ran through prices and what would be involved, I eventually decided to start with an Upper blepharoplasty. We chose a date, and I came in for an in-person consultation. Meeting Dr Choy confirmed I had made the right decision as he was very friendly and professional just like on the phone, his office was warm and inviting and all his staff were so lovely and helpful. He took me through some photos of his work, explained the results I could expect, explained possible risks and what my recovery would be like.

The day of my procedure I was a little nervous but excited. From the moment I got there everyone made me feel at ease right away. Dr Choy measured and marked out exactly what he would be removing and showed me before he started which I appreciated. Next I was given the local anaesthetic which was honestly the worst part of the whole procedure and the only time I felt any pain or discomfort. It wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t unbearable either and over very quickly. After the anaesthetic had some time to do its job Dr Choy started the procedure. We chatted all the way through which made me feel so much more relaxed, I never really had time to think about what was happening to my eyelids. Even if I did think about it there was no point throughout the procedure that I felt any pain or discomfort or anything at all. I had prepared myself to feel a little discomfort but there was literally nothing.

Directly after it was finished Dr Choy took some photos and then I was left to rest with ice compresses over my eyes for about half an hour, after that I was ready to leave. I expected to have some trouble seeing/ keeping my eyes open afterwards especially as my eyes are naturally quite sensitive but this wasn’t an issue. I was given a script for some antibiotics, Panadeine Forte and eye drops to grab on the way home which was easy as there was a chemist right next door to the office. By the time I got home my eyelids were starting to ache a little but the Panadeine Forte fixed that pretty quickly. The rest of the day I spent with the shades drawn in a dark room with my sunglasses on which sounds weird but I found it helped to let my eyes rest but still watch some TV. I also iced my eyes on and off for 15min at a time as much as possible which I continued for the next 3 days. I also was careful to sleep sitting up or as elevated as possible and not lay flat on my back or lean forward for the first week. The sutures had been covered with steri-strips and there was a little bit of fluid weeping for the first couple of hours but this was expected. I took the Panadeine Forte to help me sleep but didn’t really need it through the day after the first day or two. The first week I tried to rest as much as possible at home. At the end of the week, I went back and had my stitches removed which was a little bit uncomfortable but not bad at all and took some more photos. I also got to see what my eyelids were going to look like for the first time. I couldn’t get over how minimal the scarring was and what a difference the blepharoplasty had made. There were times before the procedure where I didn’t think my upper lids looked too bad and other times when they were so puffy they were literally impeding my vision. But when the stitches came out I looked like I had the normal eyelid I had always wanted. I’m a trained makeup artist but I’ve never really worn eyeshadow because my eyes were so hooded it was near impossible to make them look nice, I’m so excited to finally be able to start wearing eyeshadows and eyeliners and false lashes and have them look the way I want it to rather than just trying to contour and correct an eye bag with makeup. It’s crazy how such a subtle change made such a huge difference to my vision, how I looked and how I felt about how I looked. And strange as it sounds even though nothing was done to the lower eyelid bag I feel like it looks a little better just because that heaviness above it is gone.

The scar is just a colourless slight indentation in the skin, way better than what I was expecting. I am genuinely so glad I chose Dr Choy as my plastic surgeon. From the results themselves, to the preparation and care and postoperative care I received, to how easy and comfortable he and his staff made the whole process from start to finish. I couldn’t fault a single thing. I would recommend him in a heartbeat.