Beauty

[ellaphant]

I am turning 65 (!!!) this year. My gift to me will be what I am calling my  '65 Special Tune Up'! I was very glad to learn that upper eye lid surgery is most often done under local sedation - of course if you are in good health . This plastic surgeon said she recommends a low dose Xanax at home, 1 hr before arrival ( of course someone will be driving you) and you are also sedated by the doctor when you arrive. I also will be getting the latest Laser procedure -Mixto C02 Fraxel Laser - on my face. She puts a numbing cream all over the face and does the eye lid procedure first,,,an incision in the crease and removes the excess skin-which I have badly! After the eyes are done, she does the Laser treatment. 

I saw her before and after pictures and they were excellent. No one's eyes looked tight or pulled. The Laser pictures showed a very big difference especially in fine lines. The Laser treatment will cause your skin to be red and peel. For the eyes, every one has different response with bruising or swelling. I will give my self 2 weeks which she said will be plenty!

So, on to my next 2 consults!

[AussieLuvr]

@ellaphant

I had a blepharoplasty (which is what I think you are having) for ptosis (droopy eyelids) due to a medical condition. The procedure is the same, though, whether for cosmetic or vision reasons.

I was expecting bruising and pain or discomfort for a few weeks. Other than taking one Tramadol (which I already have an Rx for) when the local wore off, I didn't even need a Tylenol after that. I'm a chicken when it comes to pain, and insisted on an Rx to take home with me. I never used it but was glad I had that one painkiller pill to take when the local wore off. Just the one is all I ever needed. They put ointment in your eyes after the procedure to keep everything moist and everything will look blurry until it dissolves; thus one of the reasons you need a driver. 

I was amazed when the bruising was already disappearing on day 5. Other than some slight swelling near the eyelid incision, you couldn't even see any bruising by the end of the first week I had some nasal congestion a day or two afterwards, too. No pain or discomfort but I thought I was coming down with a cold. Nope, it was just sinus drainage and other than being sniffly for a few hours it was no biggie.

Bear in mind that if you wear eye makeup, your eyelid will be a teeny bit "less" so you may use less makeup.

The only advice I can give is to make sure you have gel eye drops on hand to put in your eyes going forward. Sometimes, after the surgery is first done the eyelids don't close completely when we sleep. They're not wide open, lol, but can just be open a tiny, tiny crack. That can cause dry eye so if you are prepared and use drops you can keep it at bay.

I've had four procedures on my eyelids, so I've gotten pretty good at this, lol. I have an ultra-rare form of muscular dystrophy that makes the eyelid muscle fail, so I've had to keep up with it over the years. I was THRILLED with the eyelid "lift" and it made me look younger and more alert. Unfortunately, for me, it didn't last - but I knew it wouldn't and that I'd eventually need other surgeries because of my MD. Since you are doing it for cosmetic reasons alone, you won't go through what I did.

The results you will get are amazing, and you'll be shocked at how little discomfort you'll have and how quickly it heals. I had it done on a Thursday morning and by Monday morning I went back to work with hardly any bruising at all.

Good luck ... you will be so happy and amazed at how quickly you'll heal!!!!

[IMW]

Had eyelid done for medical drooping- didn’t last. A year or two it is drooping again.

Hope you get the results you want.

[Katcat1]

@ellaphant  I worked part-time years ago as a Teller in a bank until I could find work in the legal field.  This one customer came in and she looked fabulous and had her eyes done (the upper lids).  It really made a difference for her and she even looked younger.  Good luck to you.  

[Little Way]

Thanks for sharing this information.  I am considering having this done in the future because I have excessive eyelid skin and it's going to get worse.  However, I am terrified of getting it removed because I don't want to end up looking like Kenny Rogers - or anyone else who has had bad eye work done.  

[Junker2327]

Had mine done also along with a brow lift, two years ago. Mine isnt lasiting either.

Beckyblu

[Trudey]

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@AussieLuvr wrote:

@ellaphant

I had a blepharoplasty (which is what I think you are having) for ptosis (droopy eyelids) due to a medical condition. The procedure is the same, though, whether for cosmetic or vision reasons.

I was expecting bruising and pain or discomfort for a few weeks. Other than taking one Tramadol (which I already have an Rx for) when the local wore off, I didn't even need a Tylenol after that. I'm a chicken when it comes to pain, and insisted on an Rx to take home with me. I never used it but was glad I had that one painkiller pill to take when the local wore off. Just the one is all I ever needed. They put ointment in your eyes after the procedure to keep everything moist and everything will look blurry until it dissolves; thus one of the reasons you need a driver. 

I was amazed when the bruising was already disappearing on day 5. Other than some slight swelling near the eyelid incision, you couldn't even see any bruising by the end of the first week I had some nasal congestion a day or two afterwards, too. No pain or discomfort but I thought I was coming down with a cold. Nope, it was just sinus drainage and other than being sniffly for a few hours it was no biggie.

Bear in mind that if you wear eye makeup, your eyelid will be a teeny bit "less" so you may use less makeup.

The only advice I can give is to make sure you have gel eye drops on hand to put in your eyes going forward. Sometimes, after the surgery is first done the eyelids don't close completely when we sleep. They're not wide open, lol, but can just be open a tiny, tiny crack. That can cause dry eye so if you are prepared and use drops you can keep it at bay.

I've had four procedures on my eyelids, so I've gotten pretty good at this, lol. I have an ultra-rare form of muscular dystrophy that makes the eyelid muscle fail, so I've had to keep up with it over the years. I was THRILLED with the eyelid "lift" and it made me look younger and more alert. Unfortunately, for me, it didn't last - but I knew it wouldn't and that I'd eventually need other surgeries because of my MD. Since you are doing it for cosmetic reasons alone, you won't go through what I did.

The results you will get are amazing, and you'll be shocked at how little discomfort you'll have and how quickly it heals. I had it done on a Thursday morning and by Monday morning I went back to work with hardly any bruising at all.

Good luck ... you will be so happy and amazed at how quickly you'll heal!!!!

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@AussieLuvr  I am beginning to have vision problems due to heavy/drooping eyelids.  Since this is causing vision problems, I'm hopeful that insurance will pay some to have it corrected.  If you were able to have your procedure covered by insurance, can you tell me where you started?  I go to a regular Optometrist.  Should I get something from him stating that is medically needed or do I need to go to more specialized eye doctor, before going to see a Plastic Surgeon?  Thanks for any answers you can provide.

[AussieLuvr]

@Trudey

It depends on your insurance. If you need a referral, your PCP can provide you one and the next step is an oculoplastic surgeon. If no referral is needed, just find an oculoplastic surgeon near you. If you need help finding one let me know; I can ask mine-I think there are only about 500 of them in the US and they all know about each other, lol. They are usually affiliated with large medical centers and do not specialize in cosmetic surgery. They DO cosmetic repairs, but for the most part they do reconstructive work as a result of disfiguring surgeries, illnesses or conditions. Basically, they make people look normal again no matter why they need it.

Once you get to the oculoplastic surgeon, they will do vision tests- first, with your droopy lids and then, by holding or taping your lids into their "regular",pre-droopy  position. Once they determine your field of vision is being negatively affected to a specified degree, an insurance company will pay for it. After all that, they schedule you for the surgery, which is outpatient and takes about half a day in the door and back out again.

The vision tests are easy; kind of a combination of what you do at an optometrist and getting your driver's license when you click the button every time you see a dot of light. They will also take photos of your droopy lids to send to the insurance company.

Once you have the surgery, your out of pocket cost will depend upon whether or not you have met your deductible for the year. I've had four procedures now, and I've paid anywhere from a maximum of $1,200 down to zero, dependent upon my deductible. It can be about a $13,000 procedure, though, so even at $1,200 - I'll take it! lol

I've had a blepharoplasty, a Muller's Muscle Conjunctival Resection, a Levator Lift and a Frontalis Sling. The Frontalis Sling is my recommendation if ptosis (drooping lids) is recurring. They put three silicone "threads" in each lid, under the skin. One end attaches near your eyelashes and the other end attaches to the frontalis muscle in your forehead, right above your eyebrows. If your lids droop again in the future, they can adjust the length of the silicone threads in the office by making a teeny incision and shortening the thread, requiring one or two stitches afterward. The first three procedures I had done were effective, but we knew they wouldn't last so I wish I'd just done the frontalis sling to start with.

I have an ultra-rare form of muscular dystrophy that causes droopy eyelids and trouble swallowing; its late onset and doesn't become symptomatic until a person is 50'ish. The eyelid muscles progressively fail so in my case I should have gone straight to the sling from the get-go. It's all good; oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy isn't life-shortening so I'm dealing with it. It IS a pain in the neck but heck, I'm 62 and have had a full life and let's face it; not everybody gets to be old. So I just keep on keepin' on.