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52 , Want to Rejuvenate my Eyes So I Can Look Like Myself Again. Upper and Lower Blepharoplasty - St. Petersburg, FL

ORIGINAL POST

Hi all, I had an upper and lower blephaoplast on...

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ZenBod
$6,500
Hi all,
I had an upper and lower blephaoplast on Monda, May 18th with Dr. Lawrence Kass in St. petersburg, FL. He is an oculo plastic surgeon and had many 5 star reviews here on real self.
I am now on Day 7, Memorial day. I have my first post op visit tomororw,Tuesday, and I am supposed to have the stiches taken out. I sure hope so! They dont hurt but I am very aware of them, feels like someone is grabbing my eyes.
It Still looks pretty bad here late on day 7, especially my left eye! Very puffy and many colors below. Has been very purple/red, now the puffy part is starting to turn yellow. I had yellow all the way down PAST my mouth on the left side yesterday.
No pain , just needing to take tylenol when I start feeling it cause a little headache, and then its fine. I am hoping some of the strange shape of my eyes will relax when the stiches are out.
I am posting photos before the procedure and for every day, I am sorry but I just could not post as it was happening , because I couldnt see very well, since I was putting on the over-the-counter ointment (generic ointment for brand name "refresh PM) in the morning and at night on my stiches for the first few days.
I was icing for the first 3-4 days for 30 minutes every hour. The best way for me was to buy frozen peas, and then transfer the peas to quart-size plastic ziploc bags. I made 3 of these bags so that I could rotate them. Sometimes I would put a washcloth or a napkin between the cold bag and my face. I set the timer on my iphone in case I fell asleep.
I bought an electric recliner from someone on craigslist for $45 and it has worked out fantastic! I was worried about sleeping in my bed because I always sleep on my stomach. Sure enough, one day I just laid down for a inute on my bed and woke up on my face! Luckily nothing happened and it was only for half an hour or so,

I set up the recliner in my kitchen/dining room and had all my chargers, etc set up and ready to go. Mary from Dr. kass' office picked me up the day of surgery and broguht me home, which was great. I didnt really want to tell people about my surgery and I dont have family in town. I had to take valium 4 hours before h procedure, then again 2 hours before , then 45 minutes before. The last thing I remeber was getting in her car to go to the office, and then being home! I dont know how they got me into the building, lol.
Anyway, my follow up appt is Tomorrow at 2:30 pm , so I hope he takes out the stiches and everything Looks like it should .
To help with bruising/ bleeding, I have been taking Hyland's arnica montana 30x ( got on Amazon) since a week before the surgery ( 4 pills under tongue 4x a day) also I stopped taking vit C, E, fish oil, ibruprofen, etc. 2 weeks before surgery. Also taking Best Naturals bromelain 500 mg tablets 2 x a day (Amazon).
Hard to tell if this stuff helped since the bruising looks so bad, but maybe it would have been worse? Had a lot of blood in the left eye and still do.
The..the ..thats all folks! For now....

Feel free to ask me anything!
Good luck everyone:)

ZenBod's provider

Lawrence Kass, MD

Lawrence Kass, MD

Oculoplastic Surgeon, Board Certified in Ophthalmology

4.8 | 334 Reviews
PROFILE

Replies (15)

May 26, 2015
BTW, you are looking GREAT -- despite the swelling. I am interested in seeing more of the recovery and 'after' -- I will be undergoing the same procedure in July and our eyes have the same shape. Did you have a CO2 laser done on the bottom lids as well? Best wishes for the coming days and finally showing off your beautiful eyes.
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May 26, 2015
Hi, thanks for the encouragement, so far so good! I did not have laser done, just lower bleph surgery to remove the fat deposits in my lower lids, under my eyes. I know you cant see the fat bubbles in the before photos, but they were there and its one of those things that once you notice it, you cant stop seeing it! , same with the hooded upper lids. I looke at old photos and I had the hooded upper lids for a long time, but only recently did it start looking a lot more wrinkled and just another thing adding up to make my face look "old".
May 26, 2015
Thank you again for posting the pics and talking about your experience. Your photos are an inspiration, and you really do look amazing!! Good tip on the continued icing!
May 26, 2015
Thanks so much for posting this. First of all you look really pretty before the surgery. You look young and don't have that many lines. I am similar in that I have too much extra skin above. I also have crows feet and puffiness so would need both. It really helped to see the healing because it must seem scary if you didn't know what to expect. Sounds like you are doing everything right. Very excited to see your final results. So you didn't have any anesthesia? Only the Valium? I want to have the procedure but I don't want to be knocked out. How was the pain and your vision right after? Could you feel anything while it was being done? Congrats and keep us posted. Best, Huddie
May 26, 2015
Interested in knowing about the CO2 laser too. Keep us posted and does anyone know a good surgeon for this in Manhattan?
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May 26, 2015
Hi huddie, Yes, I did have anethesia as well, but just local, but I literally remember NOTHING from my surgery, lol. I only had one other consult and that Dr had suggested the laser resurfacing but when I saw photos of the healing process I was nervous about it and felt like I could always do it later if I still needed something. Recovery seemed to take a long time with that. I had my follow up today and The stafff and the Dr said everything looks great! I will post another pic without my stitches in a minute. Feels sooooo much better. Pretty simple to take the stiches out. He said to continue the steriod drops for another week but I have no infection and everything is fine. Dr Kass said the swelling and bruising will go away within 3 -4 weeks post op, and it will look great in 2 months. He said not to use any scar treatment gel or whatever for another few weeks. Also said it will keep settling for up to a year. He said the odd eye shape pulling away from the pupil was do to swelling, so not to worry about it. He said tomuse ice still if I wanted to. Still no serious exercise allowed but I can let water run over my eyes, yippee! Im bummed becasue I just started a great workout bootcamp in the mornings and cant go. ( also having a breast lift on Monday, june 1st! )
May 27, 2015
Thanks so much for your post. Im considered legally blind without contacts or eyeglasses (20/600 vision). Im seriously considering the same procedure w Dr Kass but wonder about post op vision. Are both eyes entirely shut for a couple of days and how feasible/painful might it be to wear glasses over the bandages? Also, for the local ansthesia... Did you hear anything during the procedure and do you know if an anethesiologist or nurse anethesit (CRNA) was present? Thanks in advance for answering all these questions :)
May 28, 2015
I'm seriously considering upper and lower blepheroplasty ,your pics and comments have been incredibly helpful.looking forward to seeing your'after' pics!! Did u have laser tightening done after? Also.. Did they do any fat transfers. I'm very thin,my concern is when they remove the fat pad I will look more hollow and in turn, aging me worse than the eye bag did. I wear false eye lashes to hide droopy upper lid. Genetically predispositioned for this one. I'm 47 and feel like I'm 25 still....hoping this will b an answer for me. Thank u for posting
May 28, 2015
Hi ... How was your visit ? What the doctor said ?
UPDATED FROM ZenBod
8 days post

Day 8 post op photo

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ZenBod
still not much difference today, my follow up is this afternoon.

Replies (2)

May 26, 2015
Good luck at your appointment. I would love to hear what your PS has to say. I have lower and upper blepharoplasty scheduled in July.
May 26, 2015

Let us know how your follow up goes!

UPDATED FROM ZenBod
8 days post

Had my first post op follow up visit today Monday , May 26

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ZenBod
Dr Kass and the stafff, Mary, Kate, said it looked very normal and fine, which is great because I was thinking it was pretty bad, lol. Actually I have seen some photos on here of people with bright red and puffy upper eyelids, so I guess I dont have that at all.
He took out the stiches and feels much better. I cleaned with just a q-tip and water when I got home to get out all the little black pieces that I know now are pieces of dried blood, not stitches. He said to continue my steriod drops twice a day for 1 more week, but I have no infection and he said it looked great. He said thatThe abnormal shape of the eyes, pulling away from the pupil, is from swelling, so not to worry about it. Still no heavy exercise allowed, take it easy, etc. I forbot to ask but I assume I need to still sleep with my head up, Ive been sleeping in my "new" recliner, which is fine but I certainly dont sleep as good on my back at all. C'est la Vie! I will make a list of items needed, etc, for those of you gearing up for this procedure. I had stopped ice after 4 days, and in the office they seemed like I should have been doing it every day, but no one had ever told me that, and the instructions for post op just said to ice for 48 hours. Oh well...

Replies (1)

May 28, 2015
Glad to hear all is going as you had hoped.looking forward to pics next week as you heal,debi