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9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Eyelid Surgery

1)It Takes a lot of Time to Find the Right Doctor"It took me about six months to find a surgeon that I felt comfortable with and one who had two licenses. He was a general surgeon and a reconstructive surgeon and could operate at numerous hospitals. He had no complaints or lawsuits that I could find in the last 10 years.

I know we all want it done yesterday BUT take a few extra days just to give it an all around view. Once you do that you can successfully make a choice and feel good and comfortable about your decision." - liznatl

2) You May Get What You Pay For."I do not believe in economizing on one's face. Wearing cheaper underwear is a better strategy. I went to a highly regarded surgeon

and I got my money's worth. A woman I know wanted to save money although she's pretty affluent. She went to a doctor who charged only $3,500 and he made a mess of her eyes. " - Randall651

3) Eyelid Surgery is Not Meant to be a Transformation"A good plastic surgeon will never change the shape or appearance of your eyes. Only enhance them." - Vickisue

4) It's Normal to be Nervous."I was afraid at times. I even cancelled my appointment but called back the same day and asked, "Was it still open?" As time gets closer you will become a little more nervous but everything will be just great!" - Liznatl

5) Devote Time to Homework."I have found that word of mouth is the best way to find a good plastic

Edited by Sharon, a RealSelf Moderator

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Sharon is our Eyelid Surgery moderator. She developed this list based on first-hand blepharoplasty experiences reported by members of the RealSelf community.

Real FactsData below derived from RealSelf reviews at time of publication. Click on the respective facts to learn more.

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surgeon. Be careful whom you choice to do any plastic surgery and look at their record. If they are a bad plastic surgeon, the web will have complaints. If it had been around for me nine years ago, I'd of saved myself a lot of heartache, money and pain." - Vickisue

"Be afraid of NOT asking. You need to be comfortable with anyone who could be cutting on your face." - Liznatl

A"er  Surgery  Tips6. Swelling Will Go Down Faster if You Don't Use Eye Makeup or Contacts."In the beginning of my post-op I used eye makeup and wore my contacts all the time and my swelling just never went down. It wasn't until about a month ago that I went to the eye doctor and he told me my contacts were causing swelling underneath the lids. I stopped wearing them immediately and didn't wear any eye makeup for about a month. I did this and my swelling went down right away! The swelling is now GONE and I can finally see what my eyes were meant to look like.

"You will only see your final result once the swelling is completely gone---your lids heal faster if you do this trust me!" - SL55

7. Wait a Year for Full Results."Having patience helps. I expected my final result in about a month and it takes about a full year (depending on the person) to fully heal. Of course there are ways for it to heal faster but each lid

heals at a different pace and I know that now. Be patient!  " - SL55

"Wait AT LEAST a month or two before you start talking about how you hate or love your face!" - smalleyes

"I was worried that I had really messed up because for up to three weeks I had a very sleepy-eyed look. So I was thinking I went from looking tired to looking sleepy. Geez! Try not to focus too much on how you look now and think about what the end result will be. Even when my swelling went down and I thought I was seeing my results, I was wrong. It keeps improving. My doc told me to give it at least six weeks and that even after that it would continue to progress as the scar tissue settles and the feeling returns." - Bama Chick

8. Give Yourself a Break, Emotionally and Physically."If you have an office job where you are on the computer a lot you should take frequent breaks. My eyes get very tired-looking at the computer for most of the day. The doctor told me that I should expect this." - Ann K

"We are all are own worse critics. I still look at my eyes in the mirror and can find something wrong with them. It's hard to be patient because you see them every day and expect to wake up and look in the mirror and your eyes to be perfect but it's a gradual process." - TAA123

9. Swelling, Redness, and Dry Eyes Can Occur Post-Op."My doctor said to keep cool compresses

9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Eyelid Surgery Edited By RealSelf Moderator Sharon

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on both eyes as often as possible throughout the day, such as 15 minutes with compresses on and 15 minutes with the compresses off. Also, make sure you are sleeping with your head elevated for a few weeks at all times when laying down. You will look puffy and swollen for a while but make sure you keep the cold compresses on when possible." - TAA123

"I have experienced some dry eyes and my plastic surgeon recommended I start using Restasis (perscription that cost $280 without insurance! Yikes! There is no generic) and that has helped a lot.

The Restasis helps your eyes produce more of their own natural tears. So, I'm using that twice a day and the Refresh tears about 6-8 times a day." - Ann K

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9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Eyelid Surgery Written By Angiemcc

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