I had fat grafting done on my eyelids, but it went wrong, and I was troubled by a foreign-body sensation, heaviness in my eyes, and lumpiness. So at another hospital, I had the fat grafting in my upper eyelids removed through an incision under the eyebrows. Looking back, I did not have extreme pain, and the shape did not look severely bumpy... But I was worried it would gradually get worse, and since it was around the eyes... I also heard that it could calcify over time, so I was anxious and had the surgery 6 months after the fat grafting side effects occurred. Now I deeply regret having the removal surgery. The hospital where I had the removal surgery was somewhat well known for removing fat grafting around the eyes.
First, they said they would make an incision under the eyebrows and that the scar would become barely visible over time... But now, more than a year after surgery, I still have indented incision scars about 2 cm long on both sides under my eyebrows. Under lighting, they look even worse, to the point that I cannot go to places like that. The incision should have been placed very close under the eyebrow so the scar would at least be less noticeable, but they made the incision away from the eyebrow, so I think it stands out even more. It has been so hard that I confronted them, asking how they could place the eyebrow incision like this. The doctor said he had made the incision properly according to the eyebrow shape and that there was no problem at all... But everyone who sees it asks why the incision was made in that position. The purpose of the incision placement is to hide the scar as much as possible so it is less visible... But they considered the area where eyebrow hairs grow sparsely as part of the eyebrow and made the incision in a place that would not even be covered, saying there was hair there too... That is their stance, but it seems so unskilled, lacking in sense... and completely unreasonable.
Second, not enough fat grafting was removed from my right eye. The doctor says he removed only the grafted fat properly and that there is no problem... But after removal, my left eye sank back like before the fat grafting, while my right eye showed little difference, so my eyes became asymmetrical. When I actually feel under my eyebrow, there is nothing palpable anymore on the left, but on the right, something catches around the eye hollow area. Even in photos, the asymmetry is visible, and I can feel it myself, but of course they do not acknowledge that insufficient removal was done... Even when I say my right eye still has an intermittent foreign-body sensation, feels uncomfortable, and seems under-removed, the doctor just keeps saying, like a broken record, that he removed only the grafted fat properly, and avoids the issue.
Third, after removal, there is adhesion and bumpiness. Before surgery, they had mentioned this possibility, and said they would remove it naturally without deep sinking or depression. But I do not know whether too much was removed from my left upper eyelid or how they removed it, because the upper eyelid looks unnaturally bumpy and sunken, as if depressed. When I confronted them about this, of course they did not acknowledge it and said my eye was originally like that... ha... Would I not know the eyes I have seen every day for over 30 years? They said my eyes were originally like this, that it was because of my skin type, and so on. The director blamed all postoperative side effects on the patient, did not even think to look into the patient’s suffering, and refused to acknowledge anything. The right side was under-removed, so there is no bumpiness, depression, or adhesion, but on the left, because it was removed, bumpiness, depression, and adhesion developed... From a plastic surgery perspective, where visible results are important... I wonder how anyone could say this is right. And even on the left... it was just removed more than the right, not completely removed. If you look at the inner corner of the eye, there is still a worm-like protruding area. I did not have anything like this before the fat grafting, and it appeared afterward, so this was also a side effect of the fat grafting. But since it remained after surgery, I asked about it, and they said it appeared because I aged, ha. Are they saying that someone in their 30s aged within one year and developed something like that...? They said if I want that removed too, I should pay and have another surgery.
The fourth side effect is eyelid sagging and wrinkles. This was also the part I worried about most before surgery. Since fat had been inserted and then removed, the volume would decrease, and as the skin stretched and then deflated, I was worried the skin would lose elasticity, sag, and develop wrinkles. I was afraid I would look older. So I asked several times, but the doctor waved his hand as if answering was bothersome and said it would not happen. However, as time passed after surgery and the swelling went down, my eyelids sagged more and started to wrinkle. If you only look at photos of my eyes, I do not look like someone in my mid-30s. This was so hard that... for nearly a year, I could barely leave the house, and my depression was severe. Later, when I confronted the director about the sagging and wrinkles, he said, “When did I ever say there would be 100% no problem?” and told me that if I disliked the sagging and wrinkles, I should pay to have surgery to cut out the sagging skin... I was so angry and dumbfounded. He had said, in a way, that he would take responsibility if the scar was still noticeable after a year, but now he tells me to pay for laser treatment... ha.
Now my depression and suicidal impulses have improved a little, but because of the stress and the mental and physical suffering I went through for about a year after surgery, my autonomic nervous system broke down, my body started hurting here and there, my relationships around me were cut off, and my daily life collapsed. Besides that, perhaps because the right eyelid was not sutured properly, a slight diagonal wrinkle formed, and the skin of the upper eyelid itself became rough. I have many other dissatisfactions as well... But the scars, bumpy eyelids, and asymmetry are such huge problems that I cannot even pay attention to those.
I visited the hospital where I had the removal surgery several times, met the director, and confronted him. But his attitude was always that he had done nothing wrong and that I was sensitive. He even gaslighted me, saying I should stop now, that because of me he did not want to do surgery anymore, and that this was harming other people... He even told me to just forget about it and live... He created the problem, side effects occurred, and yet he tells me to forget and live with it... Of course, if it cannot be reversed, mentally forgetting and living on may be the way for me to suffer less... But I do not think the person who made it this way has any right to say that to the victim.
Fat grafting itself is not a good surgery. Please do not have the surgery itself, and if you need removal because of side effects, please be cautious. Especially incision-based removal... There is no way the scar will not be visible. The eye shape can become worse, and side effects can occur. I also remember that after surgery, my dry eye was severe for a while, so I went to the ophthalmology clinic every day and used eye drops...