[gatorgirly]

#1060080

I had bilateral repair of upper eyelid retraction surgery yesterday, and it was much easier than I expected and MUCH easier than my bilateral orbital decompression back in September.

The surgery took one hour, and I had sedation with local anesthesia. My body doesn’t tolerate general well (I get very sick) so this was great. I was asleep for the first half but the surgeon woke me up for the second half as I had to keep opening my eyes so he could make sure the eyelids were symmetrical. I felt pressure and could hear him cutting, but no pain. He is from Chicago so we discussed the Stanley Cup finals and my upcoming move to Boston while he was snipping away at my upper eyelid muscles. Before I knew it, surgery was over.

I spent about 90 minutes in recovery, and chugged four things of apple juice and downed three packets of graham crackers. I laid with ice on my eyes for a while because the right eyelid turned black almost immediately. I bruise easily so we knew this would happen. As soon as I could stand up and dress myself, they let me leave. As we were driving home, the novacaine was wearing off so I took a percocet and a half, which quickly took the edge off. I ate a LOT, dozen on and off, slept like a baby, and didn’t need any pains meds past 7 last night.

Today, I woke up feeling great. I was slow to get moving but walked my dog, took a shower, washed my face, accidentally peeled the DermaBond off my right eyelid incision (but the incision is still intact, so I’m not worried). I have an ointment for the incisions that I’m supposed to apply four times a day. I don’t know if the stitches are dissolvable or not (they were for my OD) but I see the surgeon on Monday morning. He called last night to check up on me.

Right now, my eyelids look droopy but that’s probably a combination of the swelling and the fatigue. I hope they look a little more natural in a few once when the swelling and bruising resolve. I’m just so relieved to know that I can drive (since I’m not taking painkillers) and throw this bridal shower on Saturday. I just can’t lift anything but that’s what the bride’s fiance is for! I’ve invested in giant Jackie O sunglasses and a big floppy hat to A. hide the bruises and B. protect the incisions from the sun – I don’t want ugly scars!

I’ll be posting photos and a bigger post on my personal blog for those of who already have it from when I documented my OD journey. If you’d like the link, just send me a PM.

[Stymie]

#1180185

I’m glad your surgery went so well! And now you can enjoy your bffs shower !

Speedy recovery for those black eyes too!

Big hugs!

Diane

[snelsen]

#1180186

Hi, yes, that was my experience. Piece of cake.
Shirley

[Kimberly]

#1180187

So glad that all went well – thanks for posting!

[Gabe]

#1180188

Glad to hear and good to know. I may be heading down the eye surgery path so I’m on a quest to get educated! Sounds much easier than the TT I just went thru. I’ll know if I need Strabismus surgery in a few weeks. Hope not.

Enjoy the bridal shower!

Karen

[gatorgirly]

#1180189

Today is post-op day 6 and my eyes are feeling great. The bruising and swelling got worse around the 48-hour mark but has been improving since the weekend. I was able to throw an amazing bridal shower that went off without a hitch on Saturday. Hiding behind sunglasses and a hat, no one had any idea how bruised I was except the bride and her family.

I saw the surgeon this morning for my last appointment with him ever. As I’m moving to Boston this coming weekend, my insurance will no longer cover him. He was SO pleased with how my eyes look already. They are still very dark purple and swollen, but for the first time in more than two years, my eyelids are no longer retracted. I have been so overwhelmed with relief that I’ve been crying happy tears since my surgery – I finally look like my old self again.

The stitches are dissolvable and almost gone. The eyelids are almost perfectly even but the surgeon showed me massage techniques to bring the left lid down every so slightly to line up with the right. He gave me his cell phone number so I can text him photos of my eyes as they fully heal, and I am going to stop back in a few weeks to let him take official post-op photos once the swelling and bruising are gone.

I agreed be his poster child for thyroid eye disease treatment and repair. I wrote reviews on Google+, Yelp, HealthGrades, and his website since there seems to be so little out there about orbital decompression and eyelid repair. So much of what he and other oculofacial plastic surgeons do is cosmetic, and both of my surgeries were medically necessary, fully covered by insurance, but unheard of by almost all medical professionals I encountered along the way. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve also documented in text and photos my entire journey on my personal blog. I wish more people would, too!

Eventually, I will need a cosmetic procedure to remove all the excess fat that Graves’ deposited above between my eyes and eyebrows. And I’m quite sick of contact lenses, so I might consider LASIK down the road. But for now, I’m looking forward to have normal eyes with no more surgeries or appointments any time soon.

[Kimberly]

#1180190

Thanks for the update! Best of luck with the move…and hope you can connect with Mass Eye & Ear once you are settled!

[hollygsmith]

#1180191

This is great news! I’m so glad to hear the surgery went well and recovery is going well!

[Gabe]

#1180192

Gatorgirly, great news. Would you be inclined to share the link to your personal blog (on forum or PM). I would love to follow the poster child of GD eye issues since I’m tracking on a similar path and am quite nervous about what all this could lead too. The double vision is VERY difficult to deal with. Thanks! Karen

[LKBallenger]

#1180193

I’m considering having my upper eyelid retraction corrected. I’ve gone to several oculoplastics and gotten different treatment plans. As my retraction is mild, I’m leaning towards the surgery that involves muellers muscle.
Is this the type of surgery you had or did yours involve levator? Muellers is accessed on the inside of the eyelid while levator is accessed through the outside of the eyelid if I understand correctly. Since Muellers is closer to the eyeball, was there any discomfort or foreign body sensation after surgery? After healing? I do have dry eyes. I need the cosmetic bleph surgeries as well but my Doc wants to do that later. I live in Sacramento and am traveling 3+ hours each way to see m doctor. Can anyone recommend an occuloplastic doc in the Sacramento area that they have had surgery with? Thanks!

[Author]

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