Four Lid Blepharoplasties That Caused an Eighteen Month Nightmare, Depression and Essentially Changed my Life

Following my bilateral Tarsal strip, mini cheek and polydek I co tinue to improve at four weeks post op. My eyes look good shape wise. No sclera showing under the iris. Using drops once pr twice a daynow. No more taping down at night. Scars continuing to flatten out and heal. So, $9,000 plus, for original surgery in Sarasota. So far, a further $7,500( surgeon fee) to repair, in West Palm, and I have not received the hospital bills yet...as I had general anesthesia at the hospital in West Palm. This has all been a hard lesson to learn at a high financial cost, but I thank God for Dr Patipa in West Palm. I wish that I had gone to him in the first place.

I had been a patient at this Sarasota FL practice for approx 14 years when my trusted surgeon retired. I had previously had upper blepharoplasties and also eye brow lift. A new doctor came into the practice and whilst I was not keen on any more eyelid surgery, since the skin on my upper lids was already scant, there was a tethering on my right lid that bothered me. The staff at this practice were rather excited that they had just hired a new doctor who had completed an oculoplastic fellowship. One of the girls stated that they felt very lucky that he was coming there. I thought that I would consult him to see if there was anything that he could do about the tethering of my right upper lid which had changed the shape of my eyelid. During consultation this new doctor made me feel that he could rectify this. He also told me that I had ptosis ( drooping) in both upper lids that he could rectify and also that my lower lids needed lifting. My lower lids had never been done before. He said that he would take a small amount of fat from elsewhere on my body and inject it under my eyes during surgery. I was still ambivalent but he assured me that whilst nothing is 100% certain that he felt very confident. I had this surgery on October 2 2015. Almost immediately my eyes were extremely irritated. After two weeks I could hardly see and I was referred to center for sight. The doctor there said that both corneas were so dried out that they were at the point of ulceration. My upper and lower eyelids were not closing properly in order to naturally lubricate my eyes. I have been seeing the eye doctor for almost 18 months on a regular basis 6-8 weeks ever since. At one point I was putting lubricating eye drops in my eyes every hour all day long and, up until three weeks ago I had to use eyeointment at night and had to tape my eyes shut. I sought second and third opinions in the Sarasota area but no one could really help me or were perhaps afraid to do anything more, which is understandable. I was referred to an oculoplastic surgeon, one of only a few, worldwide, who does a particular repair surgery. He is in West Palm Beach. FL. Within seconds of meeting me he told me that I had had 'too much' upper eyelid surgery and that my lower lids due partly to fat redraping during surgery which assists in pulling them down, were significantly retracted. They were not meeting the upper eyelids to close, other than a forcd closing. He said that he would repair these for me, and restore the shape of my eyes back to their normal and natural anatomical position. He has written numerous papers on this subject and does this particular repair routinely on eyes that have basically been botched. On April 6, 2017, after much deliberation, I decided to put my trust in this man. He repaired my lower lids and I have had the first relief in eighteen months. My eyes close naturally at night, and I am using eye drops only maybe once or twice a day now. I feel like such a weight has been lifted. I have learned that lower blepharoplasties can be difficult, especially if not done properly. Every patient is different and what is 'right' for one may not be the particular surgery suitable for another. My advice to anyone considering this type of surgery is to do your research well, and talk about the possible outcomes and recourses should a poor outcome occur. Make sure that you go to someone who has a lot of years' experience and not necessarily one with just great training but young and with less experience. I have learned a lot from this extremely bad experience. I should always trust my initial sense and not be taken in by the enthusiastic assurance of what turned out to be evident inexperience.