I am planning to have surgery for my upper lids that have retracted since I developed Graves disease. I have had my thyroid removed two years ago. In this time my eyes have not changed at all. The one eye is much worse then the other since it also has a greater lower lid retraction. For this the doctor suggested that he would take some skin from the inside of my mouth and put it on the inside of my lower lid to bring it up.
At the same time, I was considering removing the puffy area below the lower lid since it is was caused by the displacement of the fatty tissue behind the eye.
The upper lid is covered by my health plan, however, treating the swollen area below my eye, even though it was also caused by Graves disease, is considered cosmetic , therefore not covered. This must be done at my own expense. I am debating as to how dramatic the change would be so I can determine whether this would be worth doing.
I was hoping to get some input on what others could share on this subject. This would be extremely helpful since doctors often do not take the time to give you all the information that is involved in such a surgery such as the risk, the odds of a successful result, recovery time, process, pain, etc.
They seem to be like lawyers in that respect, —they get paid regardless of the outcome.
Any help, or input would be appreciated.
