During blepharoplasty, the surgeon cuts inside the creases of your eyelids to trim sagging skin and muscle and remove excess fat. After the excess tissue is removed, your surgeon joins the skin with tiny stitches.
I go to Dr. Purvis for an eye exam every year since he checks my "freckles" on the back of my eye balls (little pre-cancers). Last spring he didn't mention cataracts but he checked again and said no cataracts, but that my problem was droopy eyelids that cut out light and that I needed to have them tacked. He sent me to Eye South in Dothan to a plastic surgeon who performed the necessary surgery last Friday afternoon.
He numbed my eyes and they gave me a relaxant in an IV and I was awake during the surgery. There was music playing in the operating room and the young nurses and the Dr. were humming and singing! I remember telling the Dr. to stop singing and concentrate on what he was doing!
They sent me home with instructions to keep ice packs on my eyes every 20 min. for 20 min. at the time except when sleeping. The Dr. called me at 8:30 pm that night to see if I was ok and reminded me to use the ice packs and pain medicine as needed. I took one tylenol tablet before going to bed just in case I might need it. I slept all night.
When I woke up Sat. morning, I couldn't see!! My eyelids were bright red and swollen and all I could see was a thin line of light. That's scary - not to be able to see. It's been a day and 1/2 now since my surgery and I can now see enough to watch TV, read my email, and cook.
I love my 20 minute breaks; get so much done during this time. I even made a pound cake for lunch - thought Jim deserved something for his attentive care. I'm not sure how it will taste but it looks good; almost finished cooking and hasn't "caved in" on top yet.
Have you ever tried listening to TV (without seeing the picture)? Not so good. The only programs I could listen to were music or talk shows. They soon got old so I just sit in the recliner and relax. I really look forward to the ice packs. Makes my eyes feel so good. I might try doing this for my short afternoon naps occasionally.
I return to the Dr. in Dothan next Friday to have the many stitches removed. I will post an after picture later this week. You would not want to see what my face looks like right now!
