Sarah’s Journey | Upper Blepharoplasty Eyelid Correction
“As a ‘50 something’ year-old woman, I had noticed my ageing accelerate over the last few years, especially since menopause, and it felt like I was battling against the inevitable more and more!
The area I felt aged me the most (apart from my neck but that’s another project!) was the excess skin on my eyelids. It made me have real hooded, heavy eyelids and a frowny-type look. I used to have Botox purely to try and get a bit of a brow lift. This wasn’t a fix, it just made me feel a little less heavy, but I knew that I needed something a little more drastic.
I’d thought about blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) for a long time and finally decided to bite the bullet in September last year when Perfect Skin Solutions introduced it into the clinic. For those of you who may be thinking about having this type of surgery, but are unsure of the journey, I kept a daily blog. Hope it helps!
Consultation
This was really just a tick in the box for me, as I’d already made my mind up, I just needed the green light! The surgeon made me feel relaxed and I was able to have the consultation by video from the comfort of my sofa. I was asked about my journey, leading up to my decision, my medical history and lifestyle and my eyes were checked to make sure I was a candidate. Mine was a pretty straightforward case, had it been more complex, I would have needed to have the consultation face-to-face.
Surgery day
I was more excited than nervous. After going through my notes to ensure there were no changes, the surgeon started to measure and mark my eyes for incision. This took around 15 minutes, and I could tell straight away that he was a perfectionist. Once completely happy, I lay on the couch and had a local anaesthetic injected into the area. I didn’t even feel this, not even the needle going in. They played my favourite music in the background and the clinical assistant was lovely and chatty and made me feel at ease, this made all the difference. In fact, we all chatted throughout the whole procedure, and I could have almost forgotten what was happening! I didn’t feel any of the surgery at all, just the feeling of movement. I’d had this fear of having my eyes closed but still being able to see through the incisions which, looking back, is ridiculous!
The surgery itself took around 45 minutes, including the stitches. I wasn’t as swollen as I thought I would be and was up and about straight away with a cuppa and a biscuit.
A friend gave me a lift home and that evening I used CellDerma GF5 Next Generation to soothe and aid the healing. I slept propped up on some pillows and I slept quite well. I had a bit of a headache, but I think that was the adrenaline so I took some paracetamol and it went away. My head felt a little like when you have a head cold but not painful. I was a little swollen but not a huge amount.
I woke up feeling ok, no pain or headache at all. The bruising had already started to come out and I had some fluid build-up under my eyes, but it didn’t feel tender or sore. I used CellDerma’s GF5 both in the morning and evening and also used a cold compress a couple of times throughout the day which helped. The bruising progressed as the day passed, but I just had a chilled-out day in front of the TV.
I went to work today and I felt completely ok. By mid-afternoon, I felt a bit more tired than usual so went home a little earlier, but I didn’t feel any pain and wasn’t in any way uncomfortable. The bruising and swelling had already started to subside a lot too. Still using CellDerma’s GF5 AM and PM.
The bruising and swelling has gone down so much, I am someone who bruises so easily and also for a long time, so I was surprised how quickly this was fading. I can already see the difference and am excited to get my stitches out in a couple of days as it feels a little tight where it has started to dry out and heal.
I had the stitches out yesterday and I can now see a little of what the end result will really be like. The stitch removal was really quick and pain-free. I’m told that the end result won’t be at its best until about 6 months but I’m already happy!
Last few stages of bruising, I know for a fact anyone else would be fully healed by now, my body is just rubbish at healing. I am already getting comments on how good it looks and it’s just the best feeling. When you don’t like something about yourself, it’s almost all you can focus on, and to be able to look in the mirror and be happy with what you see, even at this early stage, is a game changer. I still haven’t worn make-up yet so I’m looking forward to that.
They were right, my eyes have changed and improved more and more over the last few months. You can’t see any scarring with my eyes open and only really faint scarring with them closed. So many people have commented on how good I look; it’s made a huge difference to how I look (and feel). I just look more awake and fresher. I know surgery isn’t for everyone, but if you have ever thought about it, my advice is to go for it. It is nowhere near as scary as it is in your head and the results speak for themselves”.
– Sarah’s experience at Perfect Skin Solutions.
