Patient review
I am 36 years old and of an Asian decent and I was born with asymmetrical upper eyelids. It never really bothered me during school or even University days as it wasn't as noticeable. In the last 2 years, I’ve noticed in photos the eyelid fold on my right eye or the lid crease was becoming less prominent. I actually thought it felt heavier and was droopy. My eye make up would never go on as nice as the left eye, as it would always smudge when i blink. I also used to try make it less obvious in photos by squinting the bigger eye (left) to match the single eyelid fold (right). Before I started to research what this procedure actually involved, I went to a cosmetic surgeon who was referred to me by many Asian girls I know who have had several things done to them including botox, nose bridge and double eyelids. I went in for a consultation just to see what was involved in Asian blepharoplasty. The consultation took approximately 10 minutes if that. The cosmetic surgeon didn't really ask what my concern was and just asked me if I was after the double eyelid look. He didn't explain much about it, but I guess he probably has so many patients who he then gave me 2 pricing quotes, one for suture technique, the other is the open technique and said I can opt to do either. He then went onto explaining he has his procedures posted on youtube and told me to watch how its done on his patients to get the feel of it so I can decide which technique I prefer. I kind of got turned off at the time and told him I’ll think about it.
I went home and did a lot more research as I needed to find a doctor who can give me confidence and reassurance that I will be in safe hands and will do an excellent job. Eyes was never something I would think I wanted to have done. After months of reading and comparing several reviews, blogs and forums and finally having the courage to get the procedure done, I decided to call plastic surgeon Dr Ellis Choy for a consultation. I sent them an enquiry on their website and Siobhan called me the next day to book in an appointment for the following week.
I met Dr Choy the following week and knew straight away after talking to him I was going to book in my procedure and have it done by him. Dr Choy first of all asked me what He can do to help me, why I want it done and Was I currently happy (at the time) with the left eye, or do I wish to change both eyes to make it the Caucasian look. I told him my right eye felt droopy and heavier than my left and just wanted to fix the right eye (not realising you need to do both eyes regardless to make them both symmetrical - which completely makes sense!) I explained to him I was happy with the height and lid crease of my left eye and just wanted to match it and not have a huge difference so other people can tell I've had something done to my eyes but perhaps make the left eye more defined since he was going to work on the eye anyway! He said he was confident he can make it to how I want it to be. i.e. double eye lid for the right eye so both eyes are symmetrical using the left eye as the benchmark.
Dr Choy then took me into another room where he took several photos of my eyes and also measured the distance between the eyelid crease and the fold. Took videos of me opening and closing my eyes. Then took me back into his office to show me what my eyes currently look like on his computer then compared with his patients who have similar asymmetrical eyes to me and their before and after photos after their procedures with him.
He then explained to me the two techniques he usually uses and the costs involved. He advised for the result I want he is able to do it the less invasive suture technique without any open incisions. He said he can still achieve the same outcome with a quicker down time as I needed to return to work as soon as I could and he gave me the confirmation that if He was not happy with the result at the time of surgery he can always move onto the open technique.
I was very happy with my consult and had booked a date 6 weeks from then to undergo the procedure. Due to me living some distance away from the clinic I did not find it necessary to book in a follow up pre- op consult as I was sure I was going to have Asian Blepharoplasty done by Dr Choy. Nonetheless, he personally called me 2 days prior to touch base with me to see if what we had spoken about 6 weeks ago, was still ok to go ahead. He once again gave me reassurance I was going to get the results I wanted to achieve. He gave me the opportunity to ask any last minute questions. After speaking with him on the phone I was even more excited and happy and couldn’t wait for the procedure to be done.
The day came and I was welcomed and greeted by all the lovely team at the clinic. After completing the surgery, Dr Choy took me in the room again to take more photos and videos. Then took me into the room where I would be operated. It took roughly an hour. There was no pain as such. Just discomfort if anything. but its expected if you are doing any sort of surgery awake!
During the whole procedure both Dr Choy and his team were very professional and careful and always asked if I was ok.
One week later I could already see the difference. My eyes were symmetrical! I can’t thank Dr Choy and his team enough. I’m really happy with the results and have recommended him to many friends and family of mine.