"I never thought I was the type of person to have cosmetic surgery but as age crept up on me, my eyelids began to sag, making me look constantly tired. Over a decade they gradually got worse and, when I had to hold my eyelids out of the way so that I could watch the TV, I realised that something had to be done. On my 50th birthday I told my husband that I was going to save up and have surgery.
It took a couple of years to get the money together, by which time I’d watched every cosmetic surgery series on television. I’d researched online and looked at several private hospitals and clinics.
A friend of mine had recommended Mr Sood and he happened to have a free cosmetic surgery information evening so I decided to go along to that.
He really knew what he was talking about and I booked to have a private consultation with him soon after. I went in knowing exactly what I wanted: an upper blepharoplasty – where skin and fat is taken from the upper eyelid. Mr Sood wasn’t sure that that would give me the results I wanted and suggested some other options. Though it wasn’t what I had expected to hear, I appreciated his honesty. It’s a lot of money to spend and both he and I wanted to be happy with the end result. At the end of the day, he’s the expert and I trusted his opinion.
When I was younger everybody used to say I had lovely big brown eyes. From the age of 40 those comments stopped and as my heavy lids worsened, people started to tell me I was looking run down instead. I told Mr Sood that I just wanted to have my big brown eyes back.
Together we decided that I would have an endoscopic brow lift as well as an upper blepharoplasty. I went in for surgery at 7am on 27 February and was home again by 5pm. I was surprised at the difference I could see straight away. Even with stitches and bruising, my eyes looked much better already. I had a headache at first but nothing some painkillers couldn’t counter, and a numbness on the right side of my head that lasted a couple of months. The tingling sensation was strange but there was no pain or discomfort at all.
I was advised to sleep sitting up for a week, which I did, and I had ice packs to stop any swelling. The bruising under my eyes slowly drained and when I went out I wore sunglasses just so that I didn’t scare any children. I am generally a positive person and I don’t often get ill so I just carried on with life as usual and had no real side effects. I had three scars that made me feel a bit self-conscious at first but they were all hidden underneath my fringe and have almost completely disappeared now.
Aside from my husband (and my sons who revelled in telling the Facebook world that I’d had plastic surgery), I’d only told a couple of friends what I was going to do. I took two weeks off work and when I returned everybody said how well and rested I looked which was just what I had wanted. I didn’t want to look like I’d had surgery. I just wanted to look like the old me again.
People comment on my ‘nice brown eyes’ again now. I can even wear make-up which I had given up on before because it just drew attention to the eyelids I hated. I am so much more confident – everything is lighter and brighter. I don’t try to shield my face when I’m talking to people. I can look them right in the eye.
Mr Sood was right to suggest the brow lift. Where my lids had been heavy, I used to have deep ridges at the top of my nose and a furrowed brow. The brow lift has left me with no deep wrinkles at all and a much flatter forehead so that’s an added bonus.
I can’t fault the service I received at all, it was great. The nurses, the catering staff, and of course Mr Sood. If anybody else is considering the same surgery I’d absolutely recommend it. I only wish I’d had it done sooner."