Key takeaways
Transconjunctival (internal) eye bag surgery case: his under-eye bags grew noticeably within a year and his eyes were puffy every morning. After an assessment with Dr. Che-Wei Chang, the surgery was done under IV sedation, together with liposuction and facial fat grafting. There was no bleeding, bruising or noticeable swelling afterward; he had surgery on a Friday and was back at work on Monday, and the area under his eyes is now smooth with his eye smile (tear trough fold) visible.
Contents
- A birthday present: tackling eye bags that grew fast in just one year
- Dr. Chang is professional and funny, and NAISS CLINIC's facilities and service are excellent
- Just 2 days of recovery, with no pain, bleeding or bruising
- It turns out I have an eye smile fold too, not just soft, puffy eye bags
- No prejudice against aesthetic medicine: I encourage people in their 40s and 50s to have it done
"I'm Xiang-Xiang's dad, I'm 56, and I'm a veterinarian. The main reason was that my eye bags made me look tired, and I felt they were getting bigger with age. Every morning when I woke up my eyes felt puffy. I wanted my eyes to look brighter and more alert, so I came in for surgery..."
A birthday present: tackling eye bags that grew fast in just one year
I'd heard of surgery to remove eye bags before, but never took it seriously; I had eye bags, but they weren't that big. What made me come in for a consultation was a big family photo on my birthday. My daughter said the bags under my eyes were huge in the photo and gave her trouble retouching it. At the start of the year they weren't so big, and then I realized they had suddenly grown within a year. Even my wife said I could get eye bag surgery as a sort of birthday present! At first I thought, I'm already over 50 and I've put this off for ten years, so it wouldn't matter if I kept putting it off. But my family really encouraged me, and since I had their support, I decided to come in for a consultation first.
I usually wear glasses, which hide the eye bags a little, but I still felt they were obvious, and my eyes still looked puffy. When my daughter brought me to the consultation, my wife joked she was afraid I'd become too handsome, haha, but she fully supported the surgery and came with me to both the consultation and the operation. Besides me, my mother also has eye bags, even bigger than mine. Seeing her now, I thought about ending up like that, so I figured I'd deal with it early. My daughter is now worried she'll get eye bags too, because she feels she takes after me genetically, so she might get them around 40 to 50.
Dr. Chang is professional and funny, and NAISS CLINIC's facilities and service are excellent
I found Dr. Chang very professional, enthusiastic and easy to talk to. During the consultation he shared a lot of professional knowledge, and his sense of humor made me feel much less pressure. He said that besides an eye smile fold, I had eye bags, and in that case an internal (transconjunctival) approach would be enough, with no external incision needed. My condition was still fairly good, so recovery should go well too. I felt that if I waited longer, recovery might not be as good, so I hurried to have the surgery while the internal approach was still possible, since I was worried an external incision would mean a longer recovery.
I chose NAISS mainly because of my daughter. She did a lot of homework (reading experiences on Dcard and so on), and her analysis was that lots of people have it done here and it's a big brand, so she suggested I consult first and then decide. It turned out to fit my needs well, especially since the internal approach was possible, so I decided to have surgery at NAISS CLINIC. Being a doctor myself, I care a lot about the environment, equipment and service, and I found all of these excellent at NAISS, which put me at ease
Eye smile fold or eye bag? The secrets of eye bag surgery
Just 2 days of recovery, with no pain, bleeding or bruising
On the day of surgery I was actually looking forward to it and not very nervous, maybe because I'm a doctor myself, haha. I really wanted to see what would change, and eye bag surgery is a relatively minor procedure, so there wasn't much pressure. I chose IV sedation. I felt it would let the doctor work at his best during surgery, and it would be less stressful for me too. After the anesthesia, you just wake up and the surgery's done, which is pretty nice. After the surgery, the doctor even showed us the removed fat, and there was so much that it gave me a fright. I couldn't believe that much had come out.
Afterward I stayed in the recovery room for about 20 minutes. I felt good, with no bleeding, no discomfort and plenty of energy, so I decided to go home and rest. Because I had cosmetic tape on, I didn't feel any pain before waking up the next day. I also had liposuction for facial fat grafting, so the liposuction area, my belly, felt a bit bloated and uncomfortable, but my eyes didn't feel like much. When I woke up the next day there was no bleeding, bruising or swelling. I think I was lucky; I didn't have any of the usual issues during recovery, and everything went well. Looking back now, recovery only took about two days, hahaha. I had surgery on Friday and was back at work on Monday.
The complete guide to aftercare following eye bag surgery
It turns out I have an eye smile fold too, not just soft, puffy eye bags
I'm now two months post-op. At first I followed the doctor's advice to avoid looking at my phone, bending my head down and lifting heavy things. I came back for a follow-up a week after surgery, and Dr. Chang said he thought I was recovering well, but still encouraged me to keep using cosmetic tape and even taught me how to apply it. I found Dr. Chang very considerate.
Since the eye bag surgery I really do look more alert than before, and my eyes don't feel puffy when I wake up. When I wash my face and touch under my eyes, they no longer feel soft and puffy like before. I even tried to find the incision, but I really couldn't, which shows how small it is. It was only after surgery that I learned I have an eye smile fold too. I probably couldn't see it before because the eye bags were covering it. My daughter told me that many girls now draw one on with an eyebrow pencil, and she's jealous that I have one without makeup.
No prejudice against aesthetic medicine: I encourage people in their 40s and 50s to have it done
I know many people still have stereotypes about aesthetic medicine and reject the industry or certain procedures, but I think aesthetic medicine is about looking more comfortable with yourself and feeling happier. So if my daughter tells me in the future that she wants an aesthetic treatment, I won't object. I'd probably even look up some information online to understand the procedure she wants.
My recommendation would be the internal approach. I hardly felt anything; there was no pain, no swelling and no bleeding, so I think it would probably be similar for others. I really encourage middle-aged people in good health, like me in my 50s, to have eye bag surgery, because the older you get, the harder recovery becomes. My mother is now in her 70s or 80s, and it would depend on her wishes; if she really cares about her appearance and wants to look better, I'd support her.
What to know before eye bag surgery: an easy guide and FAQ for aesthetic beginners
Can eye bag surgery fail? The big difference between internal and external approaches
This story reflects one patient's experience. Results and recovery vary from person to person; please consult a doctor in person about your own treatment plan.
