Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

For the First Time in my Life my Face is Symmetric - Orange, CT

ORIGINAL POST

I am Asian and have had ptosis (drooping) of my...

WORTH IT
I am Asian and have had ptosis (drooping) of my left eye for my whole life. When I was a child, the left eye was a monolid so I figured it would always be more droopy than the right. As I aged, the ptosis became more noticeable especially when I had seasonal allergies. I am a general surgeon---so I am all to familiar with surgical complications. I put off having eyelid surgery because achieving symmetry when the original problem is asymmetry is difficult.
After doing much research, I chose Dr. Johnny Mao who is an oculo-plastic surgeon at Yale/New Haven. He is a consummate professional and explained in detail the problem with my eyelid causing the ptosis, the procedure, and the post-op course. We talked about the difficulty of achieving symmetry especially given that the left eyelid muscle may be weak. I figured that if the left eyelid was just 50% less droopy that I'd be happy.
The operation took less than 40 minutes. It's always good for a surgeon to be on the receiving end of an operation---just to get some perspective on what patients go through! I was awake for the procedure and had to open and close my eyes several times. It was only mildly uncomfortable when the local anesthesia was placed. Otherwise, no pain at all.
As for the results: AMAZING! My eyelids are completely symmetric. I am beyond happy with the results and wish I had the procedure sooner. I can't thank Dr. Mao enough for his excellent work and his thorough and caring personality. His staff are very helpful, friendly, and kind. I would very highly recommend Dr. Mao!
Below are the pictures of before and after: I am wearing make up in the before picture; and clearly the left drooping eyelid is not less noticeable with the thicker eyeliner. The first picture is immediately after the operation. The second picture is 4 days after the operation (I had laser treatments to my face for sun spots, hence the dark discoloration). The last 2 pictures are one month after the operation. I am wearing no makeup so you can see that both eyelids are nearly the same.

KBoonvisudhi's provider

Johnny Mao, MD, FACS

Johnny Mao, MD, FACS

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 247 Reviews
PROFILE
Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

I met with Dr. Mao twice before my procedure: first for the initial consultation and a second time for the pre-operative visit. Both times he was so patient and answered my numerous questions about the details of the operation and complications. I was awake for my procedure---he was methodical and explained what he was doing during the procedure which I found very interesting and comforting. For the 2 post-operative visits, he again took his time to answer my questions. He is a true professional and a standard by which all surgeons should follow.

Replies (4)

Wow! It's so symmetric and natural looking. He did a great job. Thanks for posting. Now I know who I can go to for eyelid surgery.
Very well done and looks so natural!
Your eyes look great! Thanks for sharing your experience. Wishing I lived on the East Coast.
Wow! great work! Do you know any surgeon that can fix ptosis alongside with fat grafting to repair suborbital fat loss?