Heidi’s experience after fixing her drooping upper eyelid with ptosis surgery

In this blog post, we find out how Heidi felt after she took her eye pad off on the first day after her eyelid ptosis surgery:
Jane: And then, who took the pad off? Mum or you or combined?
Heidi: Mum did, it was very sticky. I was holding my face, and she was peeling it down.
Jane: And then what was it like when you had the pad off? Was it very bright or what?
Heidi: Yeah, we had to get a lamp because the room was too bright with all the lights on. But it adjusted after an hour. It was fine. Yeah!
Jane: And what did the eyelid look like?
Heidi: It was a bit squashed actually.
Jane: Yes, it was squashed by the eye pad for 24-hours.
Heidi: Yeah! Yeah! Exactly, it squashed and shiny I guess from the drops that were put in. It was quite red.
Jane: Any bruising?
Heidi: Very minor.
Jane: So the eyelid was red, but not the eye. Minor bruising and then the lashes that were squashed flat, how long did it… you said it took an hour for them to flip back up again?
Heidi: Yeah and then they were fine! The redness was gradually going away. Then it was only the eye leaking essentially.
Jane: Watering?
Heidi: Yeah! That’s a better word.
Jane: Leaking. How long did your left eye leak tears for?
Heidi: It was only for two days after.
Jane: So, you took the pad off on Friday, and had 48-hours of a little bit of leaking?
Heidi: Yeah!
Jane: And did the drops that you had to put in, the lubricant drops, help that leaking?
Heidi: They did. It wasn’t constant leaking. Every couple of hours a tear would fall.
Jane: Yes. That is because it feels a bit dry so responds by producing extra tears. The eyelid isn’t strong enough at that stage, and so it does not close quite so quickly or fully, and that’s why you had the lubricant drops. How did you sleep for the rest of the week? Was the eye comfortable at night?
Heidi: No problem. I did not know anything had happened really. It was like it was before.
Jane: Great. Did you have to wear dark glasses when you went out, or you were fine just with your glasses?
Heidi: Just with my glasses.
Jane: The light did not hurt?
Heidi: It hurt a bit when I went out in the sun four days after the surgery; it was a very bright light that day.
Jane: So that’s four days after surgery, so it was probably still a little on the dry side, and therefore you would have been photophobic.
And how has it been for the last three or four days?
Heidi: Absolutely fine. Not sensitive to light or anything.
Jane: I was quite amazed when I saw you upstairs in the waiting room just now before you came into the consultation. I thought your left eyelid looked super. I was particularly struck by how overall symmetrical your eyelids looked. You know, they may not be entirely 100% the same yet because there is a little bit of bruising and swelling, but it is certainly on the path to a full success, and I am very pleased. How about you?
Heidi: I am very happy. Yeah! I am looking in the mirror, and it is amazing. It has been a week, and it is where I want it to be, essentially. I am very, very happy with it. Yeah! Couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Jane: What advice would you give to other patients thinking about having similar surgery?
Heidi: Do it, definitely. Certainly, do not hesitate, it is worth it 100%.
Jane: It’s great! Well, thank you very much. I am sure that the result is going to be sustained and thank you for letting our other patients know about your experience having left upper eyelid ptosis surgery.
Heidi: You’re welcome!