1 day post-op orbital decompression
Feel free to skip around or to last paragraph for results and how I feel post op! Just making it as detailed as possible since I really wanted something like this when I was considering ODS.
Hey all! I wanted to make a post in case it could help anyone considering a ODS. My history is that I’ve had Graves’ since I was 3 years old which was discovered by my parents when they noticed my eyes bulging more than normal. I then underwent radioactive iodine (RAI) when I was around 10. Was told that that could worsen TED recently so if I could go back in time I likely wouldn’t have gotten it.
Now moving on as to why I chose surgery. I look fine. Normal to most people but I notice the scleral show in the mirror and wore large colored contacts everyday to hide it. I was also bullied a bit in HS with my ex-friend calling me names regarding my eyes and used what I told her about my illness against me. While I like to say I moved on from that I still wanted to see what I would look like without this disease. Finally decided to go through with it and got a consult in Asia as well as get an orbital MRI. They measured my hertel scores which was 21.5 and 22mm. In a top hospital in China they recommended fat as well as lateral wall decompression. They also talked about Tepezza (which is only around 10-15k usd in China for the generic brand!) but said it won’t help alot because i‘m in the inactive phase and at most reduce my Hertel by 2mm (also potential hormonal and hearing side effects) I was scared off by the quick consultation time and the fact If i got lateral wall decompression there will likely be an incision and I am very keloid prone.
Next, when I returned to America I consulted with 2 doctors. One in NY, the other in Tokyo. The office of the Tokyo doctor responded but I was off put that he suggested filling the fat to my undereyes (i’m 20 with no eye bags, don’t think I need that) and he quoted me almost 7 million yen extra for a foreigner fee. Said it was due to a variety of reasons but notably: translation team (despite me speaking Japanese), 3x consult time with doctor, anatomical differences (this part I think is BS as I am also east asian).
The doctor in NY is the doctor I decided to go to ultimately and I am glad I made this decision. I read up on all his works before I made the choice and despite no before and after photos on his website, I trusted him a lot more than the very sale-sy doctors in Tokyo and Beverly Hills. Especially because he does more complex cases as well I trusted I would be taken care of in his hands.
Now moving on to surgery day. My surgery was scheduled at 8:30 so I arrived at 6:30. There was a bit of wait but it was not bad at all. I was brought to the pre anesthesia area and changed, an IV was inserted and I spoke to my doctor one final time to ask him questions and confirm. Then I was finally wheel chaired into the OR. Anesthesia hit and next thing you know I’m awake in the PACU. My eyes looked really good right after surgery. No chemosis, no bruising, minimal swelling, normal movement, no double vision. The nurse couldn’t even tell I had surgery. At first I was a little bit nauseous and had a tiny bit of pressure in my forehead and pain but as soon as they gave me nausea meds and pain killers via IV I was chilling. I iced up and then had some food, the nurse then gave me IV antibiotics and steroids. Looked in the mirror and was very happy. The scleral show was pretty much gone (yippee to no lower lid surgery!) and my eyes were so much flatter from the sides. Doctor said they will settle more and final results will show at around 3 months. No exercise or flying for 2 weeks. They had me stay in the hospital overnight for monitoring in case of a hematoma but nothing happed so I’m getting discharged rn!
Thats about it for now, feel free to dm me with questions or if you would like a before and after (only one day out tho lol), or if you want to know which doctor ;) Good luck to all considering this surgery or getting it soon.