Very Unhappy W/ Eyelid Surgery - Winter Park, FL
I would not recommend Dr Rotatori for eye surgery....
About 3 years ago I started noticing my eyebrows and eyelid skin loosening and drooping over my eyelashes. I interviewed a couple of doctors about an eyebrow lift and chickened out because most of the photos I've seen did not look natural and I was afraid of how invasive it sounded. I regret my fear now. I was referred to Dr Rotatori by my fiancé who has several friends that had eyelid surgery, and he also had skin cancer removed by Dr. Rotatori. He told me that Dr Rotatori was known for being conservative, and if anything people would say he is too conservative so that was great with me because I like a very natural look (I believe less is more). During my consultation, I told Dr Rotatori that I had considered doing an eyebrow lift, and my fiancé told me about eyelid surgery, which I didn't know much about. My fiance said it was far less invasive and a quite simple procedure of removing excess skin. I even watched some videos on youtube, and they made it look very simple. I told Dr. Rotatori I wanted to look like myself and not change my look but just not look tired, and the only thing that really bothers me is the slight hooding over my eyelashes. He looked at me, and said that I have a very young look and that he would remove a little amount of fat in the corners of my eye next to my nose. I said why would you do that? Don't we want to preserve our fat and soft tissue to preserve our youth? He pointed it out by pressing with a Q-tip to make it protrude so you could see it. I thought it was volume loss (fat and other soft tissue loss) that makes us look older so why do you want to take it out? He said I have to. Then he drew a diagram for my fiancé to show the skin he would remove and then cauterize the muscle where the skin was removed and stitch me up. He said the scar would be hidden in my crease and eventually practically disappear. He had appointments available in the next couple of days so I was thrilled to get this done and behind me so I scheduled the surgery. I was uncomfortable w/the fat removal because the corners of my eye never did bother me so why not leave it alone and just remove the excess skin?
When I went into surgery, he was very quiet and barely talked so I rambled on to break the ice. The surgery took about 1 hour and 15 minutes according to my fiance. I got one call from the nurse the next day asking how I was feeling, and I said fine. I got my stitches out 6 days after surgery, one day early because one of the stitches was poking my eyeball. By the 10th day, I started panicking a little because my eyes looked so different than ever before in my life. I had huge eyelids(very high crease), deeper creases, and a very small sliver of skin on my upper eyelid/under brow (absolutely reverse of what my eyes were Before surgery and in all of my pictures from 20 - 48 years of age. Before surgery, I had a low crease, not deep-set eyes, and a large amount of skin (full lids) to apply highlighter eye shadow under my brow). I went from small crease to large crease, from full lids to very small/barely there, and from not deep-set eyes to deeper-set. I had no idea any of this was going to be changed. It Was NEVER Discussed. So Now I start researching and educating myself instead of hearing others say what a simple procedure this is, and it only takes 1 hour under local anesthesia. I found a website that Dr. Meronk, who has recently retired, wrote. It's an entire guide that gives full explanation of eye surgeries. It's long but should definitely be read if you are considering eye surgery. I was the perfect candidate for a beautiful outcome. I have good skin, I take care of myself, I exercise, and I don't smoke, etc. What this Dr did to me is heartbreaking because he did things to my eyes that he didn't tell me he was going to do, and I do feel like my eyes are disfigured, and I don't look like myself. I asked him for a copy of his surgery notes so I could take them to another doctor to see if anything could be done. I wanted to look like myself and just remove a small amount of skin. I conceded to the small amount of fat in the corners of my eye. He took every bit of skin he could possibly take under my eyebrow to the point that it took six weeks for me to be able to close my eyes. In his notes, he said that he excised muscle which he Never told me he was going to do. I would have never had the surgery had I known that. I had botox to lift my eyebrows beforehand, and I thank God for that because now that it has worn off and my eyebrows have dropped, I can almost close my eyes w/out squeezing too hard. You also wake up every morning with crusty sleep in your eyes because they don't close all the way. I didn't know this, but we need to close our eyes. The skin on our eyelids is to protect our eyes so you don't want too much skin removed. The sun, the wind, and dust constantly get in my eyes now. I also cannot utilize the benefits of botox to raise the eyebrows anymore because I won't be able to close my eyes because too much skin was removed. When I shower or wash my face, I have to squeeze my eyes really hard not to get soap in them. I have a dark hollow look in the inside corners of my eyes where he removed fat. I have hollow in my crease where he removed muscle that he didn't tell me he was going to remove. He changed my eyelid crease height that he didn't tell me he was going to change. He totally rearranged my eyelid shape. This is the worst thing I've ever been through. I cry everyday when I look in the mirror when I put on makeup and when I take it off at night, I have this empty pit in my stomach. Something I was so excited about because I have seen beautiful, conservative results online has taken away so much of me. My eyes are my best and most expressive facial feature and shouldn't be taken lightly. My fiancé & I texted Dr Rotatori about our concerns after about 4 weeks after surgery. I asked him if he considered this aggressive. Dr Rotatori said to wait 3 months before making any judgments. That's when I asked for the notes to go to another doctor. It's been 3 months, and I feel the same and even worse now that most of the swelling is gone and my eyes look hollow and have a dark circles from the shadows of where fat and muscle was removed. If your fat is not bulging or unattractive leave it intact and leave your muscle so you have fullness in your eyelids that is not only feminine and attractive but it softens the eyes.
The diagram that Dr Rotatori drew looked like he would remove from 2-4 millimeters of skin, and when questioned after surgery, he said he removed 6-8 millimeters in height. I now know this was very aggressive, and just cannot understand why he completely disregarded what I said to him about wanting to look like myself and that I am very conservative. I just wanted to look like I did 3-4 years ago before I ever did botox , and my eyebrows started drooping. I'm so sad that I look so different and my eyes look so aged, hollow, and unhealthy.
By him removing so much skin and muscle, Dr Rotatori forever damaged my muscle and my eyes, and I look 10-15 years older and different.
don't recognize my eyes
Replies (53)
I dont have a personal review but I would appreciateyour opinion on my photos if you dont mind. My email is cbsony@yahoo.com if you are ok emailing me, and I can send you my photos.
Thank you and God Bless.
C
Sorry I'm not on RS much, and sorry you have been through what I have. It's a horrifying experience. I will email you tomorrow as it is getting late.
Take care
I'm sorry you are feeling so disappointed and discouraged.
I also want to add how badly I swelled and had to be put on steroids :-(
I live in St. Louis and came to Florida by recommendation of my best friend of 50 years... And now I cannot be happier. Sometimes I wish he would had been more aggressive in his approach, but I'm quite happy :-)
Even though I am very scared to have another surgery, I will probably do some conservative fat transfer and then Restalyne if there's still hollowness near my nose. I have gained about 10 pounds in the past month to see what I would look like if I had more fat. The fullness looks better around my eyes, but I feel like a stuffed pig at this weight. I've never in my life thought I'm going to try and gain some weight to look better? I hate the way my eyes look, and I get so upset every time I go to do my eyes when I'm getting ready to go somewhere for a special occasion. I do have a really ugly scar in the corner my right eye, and I hate the way my eyes go into my scull from muscle removal. I can barely curl my eyelashes because the upper half of my eyeball sits deeper in my eye socket. I didn't want to change my eyes....just remove the small amount of skin that started touching my eyelashes. You said that your surgery was March 5, 2015. Mine was December 15, 2014 so maybe he was more conservative w/you after my concerned texts to him in January. I'm truly happy for you, and I don't want anyone to feel the way I do. Be glad he wasn't more aggressive, and you are happy just the way things are :-)

I am also trying to get used to having bigger eyes, deeper eyes, etc, that dont look like "me" but to most people dont look as awful as I think they do. Like you, I only wanted the subtle change that the Dr and everyone else seemed to get. I was very attached to my eyes as well. I hope you see Dr. Patipa, he is very kind and considered the best of the best. At least you will knowyour options.
I wish you all the best
I'm so glad you are feeling better....physically and mentally, and you have found a doctor that you can communicate with and has a great reputation. Keep me updated on your progress. Take care


Hi again, I wanted to tell you I went to Dr. Michael Law's website and saw his before and after photos and felt very hopeful that he can help me and you as well. You may have already looked at it, becasue You mentioned him, but his structural fat grafting of the upper lid looked like it had amazing results to get rid of the ridiculous gauging of skin and fat that was done to our upper lids. I didnt realize that could be fixed.
I called his office and then one of his nurses , Debbie, called back to conduct an interview with me about my issues. As I suspected, she said they would want me to wait until 6 moths post op to send them photos and get back in touch, but she was very encouraging.
I have several different issues, and I suppose only time will tell which ones are the highest priority to fix after 6 mos:
lower lid retraction
change in eye shape with "sad eyes",
upper hollow eyes
lower hollowness and dark circles,
non dynamic (frozen) lower lids that dont move up when I smile.
Anyway, just wanted to pass this info along to you. Dr. Patipa in West Palm Beach may also do fat grafting, but I had not addressed my upper eye hollowness with him. Dr. Law seems like he does this. Procedure all the time. I will tell you this though, I am not doing anything to my face without researching several surgeons and meeting them in person and asking them exactly what they would do.
because of the asymmetry and the hollowness in my left eye. I had a year of severe anxiety and depression. I am doing alot better now, but feel the tightness everyday. I have to load my eyes with ointment at night and use drops several times a day. Jack Friedland would not take any responsibility for this. I have considered filler in my upper eyelids but I don't have the courage yet. I saw that you had mentioned Dr. Law. If only we would have went to him. Please take a look at Dr. George Yang's (New York City) website. If I get the courage to try fillers, I think I will go to him. I have talked to others on this website and they say he is very kind and very good. Please keep me posted if you find anyone you trust. Prayers....
Replies (73)
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