LazybumtToT ✌: Double Eyelid Surgery (Full Incisional Upper Blepharoplasty and Epicanthoplasty) - 3 Year Comprehensive Update (Why I got Surgery, my non-invisional surgery prior, what they look like now, etc.)

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Double Eyelid Surgery (Full Incisional Upper Blepharoplasty and Epicanthoplasty) - 3 Year Comprehensive Update (Why I got Surgery, my non-invisional surgery prior, what they look like now, etc.)

Time flies, it's been a little over three years now since I've gotten incisional upper blepharoplasty and epicanthoplasty with Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva from Lea Plastic Surgery (She used to work for Wave Surgery in Korea Town but she's opening up her own practice soon in Newport!) And I honestly still have to say that it was the best decision I've made for myself.

Growing up my eyelids have always been mischievous, having a personality entirely of their own, utterly unpredictable. I'd wake up some mornings with one double eyelid, sometimes neither even. Only on those rare good days would they both appear, but that wasn't even a guarantee, one of them may choose to disappear at a random point in the day. Because of this dilemma I've learned to explore different options to manually create double eyelids at a very young age (I think around 11). I've tried tape, glue, mesh, you name it, I've probably tried it. Although with the aid of these tools I was able to even out my eyelids when needed, the results were rather short lived and over time the stretching and pulling from these methods made my eyelids very droopy. Slowly buy surely my constant worrying over double eyelids became an obsession and this insecurity made me feel ugly. I knew that one day I would opt for surgery to fix this issue once and for all.

After some intensive research I knew my options included two major groups: suture method vs incisional method. The first method was much less invasive in that a suture is placed inside the eyelid (kind of like sewing) to force a crease in the eyelid. There is no cutting thus down time would be significantly shorter as well. The second option includes actual cutting of the eyelid, where an incision is made in the upper eyelid and some skin and or fat may be removed. The eyelid is then sewn back together to create a permanent fold. There are up and down sides to both procedures. Though one has a shorter downtime and less chance of significant scarring, the retention is much inferior compared to the latter method. And while the full incisional method yields a more permanent result, the outcome may involve longer down time and tougher recovery with higher chances of scarring.

At the time the word surgery just gave me an eerie feeling, it was rather scary to even consider "going under the knife". But I knew I had to do something about my uneven eyelids before it drove me completely insane. At the age of 21 I opted for the less invasion, non-incisional suture method and got this procedure done in a clinic in Beijing, China. The process was short, I was in and out in less than 30 minutes and there was no blood or intense bruising. I was able to wear makeup within that week and the results were rather...natural after healing. However, the results were also short lived. Within six months after the experience my eyelids reverted back to how they looked before. It was as if I had never gotten them done. You can read about my non-incisional method experience in this blog post:
http://lazybumtotbeauty.blogspot.com/2013/10/double-eyelid-surgery-pics-need-to-be.html

Two years later I've really had it with my eyelids and decided I would get the full incisional method and just have them cut open once and for all. This time around I didn't do a lot of research on which Doctor to seek help from. It was by random chance that I walked into a consultation office in the plaza where I had worked at the time. After some brief consultation I decided I would get the surgery with Dr Goretti Ho Taghva. (Now looking back maybe it was fate because I really hadn't done thorough research and I had no idea how Dr Ho's skills were.) Call it fate or whatever it was, I'm so happy that I had gotten the surgery with her because not only was she BEAUTIFUL but she was also patient, kind, and honest. My interaction with her felt natural and I didn't feel like I had to get more procedures done other than what I had initially wanted. She was very thorough with explaining what needed to be done for me the achieve the results I wanted and because of that I had very realistic expectations. Here I am three years later, still really happy with my results.

Plastic surgery can be intimidating and can often times be considered taboo to many. Not to mention its addictive nature too that makes it potentially detrimental. It used to be something looked down upon frequently but has become more and more widely acceptable in recent years. With any procedure comes with risks, the key to a successful operation involves great communication with a good surgeon and realistic expectations. Having a reasonable incentive for opting for surgery allows you to upgrade yourself without becoming overly obsessive about it. It is not wrong to get plastic surgery if in the end it helps you look more beautiful inside and out. And with that being said, I hope this post was helpful and good luck to you if you are looking to get the procedure done as well.