For those of you who have seen my past photos, I had tiny eyes without any eye make-up. I finally decided to do double eyelid surgery with ptosis correction, epicanthoplasty and lateral epicanthoplasty in 2014. I will be sharing with you my experience with double eyelid surgery as well as epicanthoplasty.
Epicanthoplasty widens the inner eyelid or the outer eyelid (lateral cantoplasty) via incisions around the area. It will help enlarge and reshape the eye into a perfect, almond-shaped eye by sharpening the edges of the eyes and lengthening the eyes horizontally. It is a very popular procedure for those who want to eliminate the Mongolian fold that is common for Asians.
The Mongolian fold is a skin fold of the upper eyelid covering the inner corner of the eye which is very prevalent in Asians. When this Mongolian fold is very prominent, it mars the aesthetic results of a good double eyelid surgery procedure, thus in such cases, epicanthoplasty should be done in conjunction with the double eyelid procedure. [1]
Going for my doctor consultation
For any plastic surgeries, you should always research on what kind of eyes, nose etc you like and show pictures to your plastic surgeon. Pictures speak a thousand words!
For me, I showed my doc Park Sora’s photo as a reference. I wanted bigger eyes like hers. My doctor then advised the double eyelid height and the procedures I will be going through. He also used an instrument to show me how my double eyelids would look like so that we were on the same page and I knew what to expect.
Double eyelids: Incisional v.s. Suture
During your double eyelid surgery consultation, the doctor will also ask you if you want to go for the incisional technique or the suture technique. The incisional technique allows more change as the doctor can reshape your eyes, remove eyelid fat and can be combined with procedures like epicanthoplasty. It is definitely longer lasting than the suture technique, but of course, the downtime for recovery is also fairly longer.
I am so glad my doctor recommended me the incisional double eyelid surgery as I did want something that was as long-lasting as possible and I also wanted to enlarge my eyes.
I also did fat grafting to inject fats into my forehead, cheeks and laugh lines to create a fuller and youthful look.
Surgery Day
Everything went well and smoothly during the surgery. Many have asked me if epicanthoplasty and double eyelid surgery is painful. The short answer is no. Although I did look quite scary with all the swelling and bruising around my eyes, there was honestly no pain during and after surgery.
Post-Surgery
By Day 7, the bruises and swelling have subsided by quite a fair bit as you can see in my selfie — thank god! My eyes and face are healing pretty well by now.
Tips for double eyelid surgery
If you’re considering going for double eyelid surgery too, here are my tips:
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- Lay off smoking and drinking (alcohol) for 2 weeks before your surgery
- Don’t take any medications including aspirin at least 2 weeks before your surgery
- Let your doctor know if you’re experiencing any flu, cold, cough or phlegm within one week of your surgery
- Fasting guidelines:
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- General anaesthesia: You’ll have to fast from 12 a.m. on the surgery day, i.e. no food and no water
- Local anaesthesia: Eat a simple meal before your surgery as you may want to go home and rest immediately after your procedure.
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- Apply an ice pack around your eyes religiously after surgery for 2 to 3 days, it will greatly reduce swelling
- Walk around as usual! Too much lying down in bed may increase the swelling.
- Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol for 1 month.
- Don’t go swimming or do any strenuous activity for at least 2 months after your surgery.
- Avoid massages or friction around or on your face for at least 1 month. And no spas or saunas too!
- Don’t rub your eyes.
- You can cleanse your face after your stitches are removed (usually Day 2).
- You can resume wearing eye make-up on Day 4.
Now I’m spending less time on eye make-up and getting ready. I just need three essentials: my eyebrow pencil and bb cushion and that’s it — I’m ready to go!
References:
[1] Khoo, B. C. (1962). The Mongolian Fold (Plica Mongolia). Singapore Medical Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, September, 1962.
I’m Agnes, a K-beauty enthusiast who graduated from Curtin University and I’m currently a digital creator based in Singapore. I’ve worked with many beauty, fashion and aesthetic companies on digital marketing projects and I am active on Instagram. I believe taking care of yourself is being productive.
