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POSTED UNDER Eyelid Surgery REVIEWS

Upper and Lower Bleph "Eye Lid Surgery" -Fort Lauderdale, FL

ORIGINAL POST

I have wanted this done for a long time now,...

$3,700
I have wanted this done for a long time now, because I have always had puffy lower lids. I had a gastric sleeve earlier this year and have lost right at 60 lbs now. With the drastic weight loss my skin on my face has become more loose and droopy so my eyes have become more pronounced with the excess skin and puffiness. I thought it was time to do something about it, because all the cosmetic treatments, creams lotions and empty promises and several hundreds of dollars to Bio Derm was not getting it. It was not a bad procedure, I did it without a sedative just local anesthesia that's all. It went well my Doctor who I absolutely love said I was a great patient even without a sedative. It took about 2.5 hours for both upper and lower on both eyes. Unfortunately I'm not a person who heals fast or well. I have had minor complications like my stitches opening and had to be re-closed today that is why my left eye looks more swollen and red in the pictures. If you look closely you can see I still have stitches in that eye. 5 days after the procedure Doc removed the stitches, 2 days later I came down with an eye infection and an allergic reaction to the eye drops he prescribed for the infection. After a few days it cleared up and my eyes begin to heal and look better. Dr. Thomassen said he would have preferred to see me less bruised and swollen but that happens with some patients, we all are different and heal different. I bruise easy all the time and it takes a long time for my bruising to go away even if some one pinches me it will last over a week. :-( Other than that I'm doing fine now. I was a little depressed and scared at first but that is now going away, not depressed about my face any more but still watching and looking at it all the time like a hawk, lol. That's my personality a little obsessive I know, but don't tell anyone. I think it is worth it I can see the change today and I think it will come out better than I expect so I will keep you posted.

BODY WORK WEIGHT LOSS_LISA P's provider

John Michael Thomassen, MD

John Michael Thomassen, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.8 | 126 Reviews
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BODY WORK WEIGHT LOSS_LISA P

BODY WORK WEIGHT LOSS_LISA P rating for Dr. Thomassen:

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Replies (6)

November 5, 2013

Thanks for sharing!  Despite the setbacks in your healing with the infection and allergic reaction, you look great for 14 days out.  Congrats on the weight loss, too!  I think your face looks lean and healthy.  Keep us posted on your continued healing.  I know arnica montana gel applied topically really helped my bruises break down (I was also taking arnica and bromelein pills). 

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November 5, 2013
Hi Jill, Thanks for speeding up the process. Today I'm back to feeling like ole' left eye slugger again, lol. Much swelling on the new stitched area but I now know in time that will go away. Not so worried this time, it just feels funny because one eye has swelling and stitches and the other is around the corner headed for total healing. Feels a little off balance. I have been taking arnica 3-4 x per day and bromelein pills 2 x every day since a week before surgery. I don't think it did me much good, but who knows it could have been even worse if I did not take it. Must look at the bright side. Dr. Thomassen feels I'm well enough to go home with the few disprovable stitches so I'm on my way back home to Texas today. I have been here for two weeks and I enjoyed myself a lot this time, in spite of my boyfriend having the flew and me looking like swollen face alien . I hate leaving Miami this time but need to get back to work so I can pay for my other up coming procedures. I will post more pictures in a week or so to show the progress. Thanks every one for the congrats and encouragement it truly helps to see things more clearly and not from a personal over self critical view. I appreciate you!
November 5, 2013

I wonder if you are inadvertently letting your face fall to the side when you are sleeping, and that is why one side is swollen (the side of your face that is on the pillow) and the other side is not.  Maybe not, who knows!  I found that continuing to sleep with my head elevated really helped with the swelling and puffy look- even after a month.  Good luck traveling home!  Drink lots and lots of water!  :)

November 5, 2013
Congratulations on the weight loss...you are looking great. I like your review because it is helpful to know that things can happen unexpectedly...but that in the end, with patience, things get so much better. Great result!
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November 7, 2013
Thank you! Yes, things can happen especially if it's tied to me, lol. My eyes are looking better. I'm still a little concerned with a few scar issues but I think it's all going to turn out great.
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November 5, 2013
You look fabulous! Congratulations!
13 days post

I Forgot To Tell You...

We already know how great Dr. Thomassen is but I failed to mention he ask me if I wanted him to remove all of the skin tags on my eyes and around my eyes because he did not like them. What do you think I said? Heck Yes! Remove all them suckers as much as you want! Man this Dr. Is amazing he wants you to look better than you think you want to look yourself. BTW my surgery was $3,700 not $4,700 I just noticed I pressed 4 instead of 3. I hope they can change this here. If you are looking for just upper lids you can look on Groupon if he still is offering the discount there. I did not pay for it through Groupon I just mentioned I seen it there and they honored it. What a great office. Can you tell I love my Doctor and his staff! Just Awesome!

Replies (12)

November 6, 2013
Congratulations on the 60 lb. wt. loss and the upper/lower bleph surgery. Your results look great! Thank you for sharing.
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November 7, 2013
Is it normal to have swelling "hard" under one eye after surgery after almost a month? The right side looks better. I had fat injections as well. Very worried.
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November 7, 2013
I think that can be normal for some of us. I am 15 days out now and its still very hard under my left eye where I had more swelling. My Doctor told me to start messaging it in an gentle upward motion. I know it's hard not to worry because I'm doing it every day several times a day when I look in to a mirror. I will give it more time. My eyes are looking much better I just see a few things that still concerns me. Keep us posted and post your story and pictures. I would love to see them.
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November 11, 2013
Thanks. I will. Just don't want to get it open again. I can't go through it all.
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November 7, 2013
Hey Jill, Yes I do sleep on my side. I did the back thing post up on pillows for as long as I could but it makes me very uncomfortable to the point of agitation. So I sleep in the lazy boy upright for about 6-7 days then started sleeping in the bed. you can always tell which side I slept on the longest by which eye is more puffy in the morning. I don't know if I will ever be able to sleep on my back. I'm going to give it two more weeks before I voice any concerns to the doctor, hoping it will all look great by then.
November 7, 2013

Since you are still healing (6 long months before all the swelling will really go down), I bet the side eye puffiness will ultimately go away.  Let us know what your Doctor says, though!

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November 11, 2013
I read that a muscle can bend or something like it. Then you will need to be open again to get it check out. How can you tell is something went wrong? That's my main concern going through it again.
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November 11, 2013
Is it normal for my eye muscle to be twitching while it's getting very. It's the left swollen eye that bothers me the most. It's also sore. It's it normal?
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November 14, 2013
Hi gudepy, I have not experienced eye twitching but I do get random sharp shooting pains through the surgery area. I know this is nerve racking for us because as I always say "This is our face we are talking about" we can't hide it so we want it to look it's best. Keep me posted on your progress it seems you and I are slow healers. ;-/
December 9, 2013
Hi gudepy. Thanks for sharing. Results are looking good already so you should look great when the healing is done. Don't worry about the twitching. It happens even if one doesn't have surgery. I get them on and off. It will go just don't think about it too much!
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May 22, 2014
My left eye is still swollen after 7 months. I'm unhappy but everyone says I look good. No one can understand how I feel.
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November 11, 2013
I meant it's getting better....
21 days post

Ugh!!!! Need my stiches fixed again

Well as much as I love Dr. T's bedside manner... I have to go back to FL for more stitches, my left eye is not healing properly because my stitches came open after the first surgery he restitched them and then 2 days latter it came open again. Now I'm back in Texas and it's not healing properly it has a whelped type of scar. He looked at my pictures and wanted me to come back right away but unfortunately I need to work and make some money first. I guess I will go 1st or 2nd week of December. Thank goodness I go out there like every 6 weeks anyway to visit my sweetie. Well I have to tell you guys the truth or the way my heart feels right now. Even though I adore Dr. Thomassen as I said, I'm not sure if I'm going to be happy with the final results. The jury is still out. I'm 3 weeks out today and I'm not very happy. I'm still very swollen, bruised and scars are still very noticeable. Dr. T says I look fine and he is confident that the end results will look very good. I pray he is right. This is my face we are talking about. I will keep you posted.ee

Replies (7)

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November 14, 2013
I will be visiting the doctor today. This is crazy my eye looks terrible. I will keep you post it.
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November 22, 2013
How did your check up go? Who was your serfeon?
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November 22, 2013
Visit was good. Dr. said it's normal and it will be healed with time. I like the fact that he sounded confident. I came back home with a new perspective. My left eye is less swollen but with some weird shapes normal I believe as one parts heals faster than others. I call my dr... Dr R as his last name is so difficult for me. He is a sweet dr and I appreciate the way he treated me on this visit.
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November 22, 2013
Hey Gudepy! I'm glad to hear all went well! I'm anxious to see my Dr. my eyes are not going as well for me (my perspective). I love my Dr. he also is very sweet, considerate and takes the time with you, so I'm praying he skills live up to his reputation. My scars look pretty bad and I'm still swollen a few days over a month now. I'm putting scare away on my scars now every night and that sees to help. Scar Away suppose to flatten, lighten and diminish scars. I hope it works before the second week of Dec. because I don't want to go back to Florida to have more surgery and look horrible for the holidays. I want to go there to enjoy my time with my sweetie. Well keep me post and put some pictures up that really helps others and keeps this site going. I love this site for searching for Dr. and reviews with pictures are the best. TTYL
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November 22, 2013
Having a revision will send me trough the roof. Let's pray all is well with you. I'm believing for you total recovery in Jesus Holy Name.
November 23, 2013
Happy to hear that your visit went well. I hope your healing continues to get better and better. Thanks for sharing. BLESSINGS!
May 6, 2017
Look beautiful from what I see