Very Unhappy W/ Eyelid Surgery - Winter Park, FL

I wanted to look like myself w a small amount skin removed so I looked like I did about 3-4 years earlier. I was afraid to get an eyebrow lift because I thought it was aggressive so this seemed much simpler and a quick fix. Dr Rotatori said he would have to remove a tiny amount of fat near my right eye, and I wouldn't even notice. Other than that he drew a very small amount of skin that he would remove (looked like started at 1 millimeter, tapered up to 3-4 millimeters and back down). Instead after surgery he told me from what he recalled he removed 6-8 millimeters of skin, removed a very noticeable amount of fat, and removed my muscle which is why I have still not fully recovered like most people that elect to have conservative skin-only upper eyelid surgery). I would have never done this if he would have told me he was going to cut out my muscle and change my eyes around. I've seens 100's of eye surgeries w/women that had similar problems as me and they came out beautifully, conservative, very natural looking and just like a younger version of themselves. This was a very aggressive surgery and other doctors agree that it was. I told Dr Rotatori that I was conservative and wanted to look like myself, and my eyes don't look anything like I've ever looked in my life or anyone in my family. I use to have very soft eyes, and now they are hard and aged. Fat and muscle are what keep us young and young looking. I look hollow and operated on w/weird curves and scars that don't look natural at all. I have to wear eye make-up to hide myself. My eye skin looks pulled when I smile. I look like a plastic surgery freak when I wake up in the morning. I don't like being seen, I'm self-conscious, my eyes are dry and now they bother my all the time. I can't imagine what I will look like in 10-15 years when we naturally lose fat and muscle around our eyes. I was such an easy patient. I didn't want to change. I wanted the most conservative approach. I can't believe somebody would do this to me on purpose when they could have done so much less. It should have been a simple surgery. I've found so many conservative surgeons on this site that believe in the latest tissue sparing techniques that produce natural results.

I would not recommend Dr Rotatori for eye surgery. His aggressive and old school techniques show me that he takes the function of the eyes and soft tissue for granted.
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.