# play by play of my fatty decompression [GRAPHIC STUFF]



## amiwoj

on wednesday, october 5th, i underwent fatty orbital decompression surgery. in this procedure they don't remove any bone, only excess fat that has accumulated behind the globe. my exophthalmos wasn't severe enough to warrant the extra risk involved with a bony decompression.

for those who are considering having this surgery or those who are simply curious, this post is meant to describe my experience.

i arrived 30 mins before the procedure to get my valium and let it kick in. i was given 5mg, but was told that if i feel that i need more, they'd work with it. i'm so glad my friend was there while it took effect, because i know that if i were by myself, i would be stressed about the valium itself. see, i'm not big on altered states of consciousness - never been drunk or high. so this was going to be out of the ordinary for me.

i was told that a lot of people get so relaxed from the valium that they fall asleep and simply wake up when it's all over. other people are semi-conscious, able to ask questions, but don't really remember the surgery itself.

well, i remember everything. in fact, i talked throughout the procedure!! it was a delicate balance of asking questions to keep my mind otherwise occupied, but not aggravating the surgeon while he was doing his thing!

the first step after the valium was the freezing. that's the most painful part, but as they continue to freeze, each subsequent poke feels "better". the most painful place where they poked was right in the corners of the eyes (the corners by the temple, not the nose).

i was still feeling anxious and my muscles were tense so they gave me another 2.5mg of valium. i am a very body-aware person, so i liked the happy medium of being relaxed but still being aware of what was happening. that's interesting to me because the night before i was hoping i would just zonk out during the surgery and not have to "deal" with being aware.

throughout the procedure, the doc insisted that i tell him whenever i felt any pain. the freezing wears off over time so it needs a touch up every so often. he also said that pain may mean there's some bleeding, so i should tell him right away so he can check for that immediately.

the next step after freezing was the opening, aka cutting. before the surgery i asked him where exactly he would be cutting and he said that he'd cut in the corner of my eye (temple side) and continue down the inside of my lower lid until he reached the other end of my eye. not the nicest thought in the world, but the valium helped me deal with that as well as the excitement i had felt about having this surgery for the last 3 years!

so the cutting began. it didn't feel like a scalpel as much as little scissors. i could feel every snip, although it wasn't painful. in fact, i felt pretty much everything he was doing in there, most of the time without any pain. i felt him cauterizing blood vessels so they wouldn't bleed (i even saw the smoke rising up), i felt him move my eyeball over to access different parts of the orbit, i even felt it when he was "scooping out" the fatty tissue. weird, yes. painful, no. sometimes i felt a little pain when he was cauterizing, but i would tell him, he'd retouch the freezing, and we'd be all good again.

he did my left eye first, then moved onto my right. when he was done with my right, he went back to the left to see if he could find any more stuff to spoon out. he got a little more, moved back to my right eye, and found some more there too.

then he said we were done that part and it was time to close things up. now, remember that the incision was mostly on the inside of my lower eyelid? well you know what that means for the stitches. yup. i have stitches on the inside of my eyelid. scratchy? yes.

it was at that point the he insisted i take another half a valium. my muscles were tensing up and while i said i'd be ok, they convinced me otherwise.

so, onto the stitching. basically, what he did was stitch the tissues of my inner eyelid to the conjunctiva (the clear membrane that covers the eyeball). i got two stitches in each eye corner, and was all set.

i sat in the waiting room with my sunglasses on (as not to scare any of the patients there) and waited for the go-ahead to go home. i got a prescription for oral and topical antibiotics, grabbed them from the pharmacy and headed home.

the night before i had prepared 4 ziplock bags (the ones that are 1/2 a sandwich size) with frozen peas and threw them back into the freezer. i grabbed one of those, went to bed, and fell asleep with peas on my face. the rest of the day was about resting, taking meds, and hanging out with my wonderful doggy.

the next day, it looked to me like a stitch had fallen out or loosened in the corner of my left eye. given that it would be hard for me to get a ride back to the clinic, i took some photos and sent them to my surgeon. he said that something may have gotten a bit loose but it wouldn't affect the final result. i have a followup appointment next wednesday (a week post surgery) so they'll look at it then.

i had wondered whether icing my eyes, or any injury for that matter, actually did anything. i was never sure whether it was worth the effort and discomfort to sit there with a bag of ice or not&#8230; but when the doc said not to worry about the stitch, he also said that "It looks like you're doing a good job with the cold compresses". i guess he could tell from the amount of swelling and bruising that i was using the frozen peas. so that reassured me.

thursday, which was the day after the procedure, was the worst day as far as swelling goes. yesterday and today the swelling is way down, although there are some bright colours adorning my face - blues, greens, magentas, oranges&#8230; i look very decorative.

the stitches used are dissolvable so they'll be disappearing on their own. i'm not sure whether it's because i've gotten used to them, or they've already started softening, but they're irritating my eyes less than 2-3 days ago for sure.

as for the proptosis of my eyes? i guess that's the question of the hour, right?

it sure seems like they're further back. of course, it's hard to tell whether they're further back or the rest of my face is just further forward with swelling, but i think i'm going to be happy. it's not going to be as drastic a change as it would be with bony decompression, but after things settle, and after my followup surgeries (blepharoplasty, etc), i'll look close to what i looked like pre-graves, i hope anyways.

for those interested, i'll keep updating. once the swelling and bruising are gone, i'll take some follow-up pictures before my next procedures. and so on.

wish me luck, and good luck to all of you out there!




































_fatty tissue removed from behind my left globe._









_fatty tissue removed from behind my right globe._


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## joplin1975

Wow. Not dealing with this issue, but I wanted to say that was the most fascinating post. I have to imagine lots of people are going to find it exceptionally helpful!


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## amiwoj

i do hope that it helps someone. when i joined the board a few days before my surgery, i was hoping that i could find something similar - something that would give me a better idea of what i could expect, beyond what my doc told me.

i'm glad you found it interesting! i did too. as scared as i was, i'm always so intrigued by such things.

apropos, here are some pics from day 3 (sat, oct 8th), today.


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## Andros

amiwoj said:


> on wednesday, october 5th, i underwent fatty orbital decompression surgery. in this procedure they don't remove any bone, only excess fat that has accumulated behind the globe. my exophthalmos wasn't severe enough to warrant the extra risk involved with a bony decompression.
> 
> for those who are considering having this surgery or those who are simply curious, this post is meant to describe my experience.
> 
> i arrived 30 mins before the procedure to get my valium and let it kick in. i was given 5mg, but was told that if i feel that i need more, they'd work with it. i'm so glad my friend was there while it took effect, because i know that if i were by myself, i would be stressed about the valium itself. see, i'm not big on altered states of consciousness - never been drunk or high. so this was going to be out of the ordinary for me.
> 
> i was told that a lot of people get so relaxed from the valium that they fall asleep and simply wake up when it's all over. other people are semi-conscious, able to ask questions, but don't really remember the surgery itself.
> 
> well, i remember everything. in fact, i talked throughout the procedure!! it was a delicate balance of asking questions to keep my mind otherwise occupied, but not aggravating the surgeon while he was doing his thing!
> 
> the first step after the valium was the freezing. that's the most painful part, but as they continue to freeze, each subsequent poke feels "better". the most painful place where they poked was right in the corners of the eyes (the corners by the temple, not the nose).
> 
> i was still feeling anxious and my muscles were tense so they gave me another 2.5mg of valium. i am a very body-aware person, so i liked the happy medium of being relaxed but still being aware of what was happening. that's interesting to me because the night before i was hoping i would just zonk out during the surgery and not have to "deal" with being aware.
> 
> throughout the procedure, the doc insisted that i tell him whenever i felt any pain. the freezing wears off over time so it needs a touch up every so often. he also said that pain may mean there's some bleeding, so i should tell him right away so he can check for that immediately.
> 
> the next step after freezing was the opening, aka cutting. before the surgery i asked him where exactly he would be cutting and he said that he'd cut in the corner of my eye (temple side) and continue down the inside of my lower lid until he reached the other end of my eye. not the nicest thought in the world, but the valium helped me deal with that as well as the excitement i had felt about having this surgery for the last 3 years!
> 
> so the cutting began. it didn't feel like a scalpel as much as little scissors. i could feel every snip, although it wasn't painful. in fact, i felt pretty much everything he was doing in there, most of the time without any pain. i felt him cauterizing blood vessels so they wouldn't bleed (i even saw the smoke rising up), i felt him move my eyeball over to access different parts of the orbit, i even felt it when he was "scooping out" the fatty tissue. weird, yes. painful, no. sometimes i felt a little pain when he was cauterizing, but i would tell him, he'd retouch the freezing, and we'd be all good again.
> 
> he did my left eye first, then moved onto my right. when he was done with my right, he went back to the left to see if he could find any more stuff to spoon out. he got a little more, moved back to my right eye, and found some more there too.
> 
> then he said we were done that part and it was time to close things up. now, remember that the incision was mostly on the inside of my lower eyelid? well you know what that means for the stitches. yup. i have stitches on the inside of my eyelid. scratchy? yes.
> 
> it was at that point the he insisted i take another half a valium. my muscles were tensing up and while i said i'd be ok, they convinced me otherwise.
> 
> so, onto the stitching. basically, what he did was stitch the tissues of my inner eyelid to the conjunctiva (the clear membrane that covers the eyeball). i got two stitches in each eye corner, and was all set.
> 
> i sat in the waiting room with my sunglasses on (as not to scare any of the patients there) and waited for the go-ahead to go home. i got a prescription for oral and topical antibiotics, grabbed them from the pharmacy and headed home.
> 
> the night before i had prepared 4 ziplock bags (the ones that are 1/2 a sandwich size) with frozen peas and threw them back into the freezer. i grabbed one of those, went to bed, and fell asleep with peas on my face. the rest of the day was about resting, taking meds, and hanging out with my wonderful doggy.
> 
> the next day, it looked to me like a stitch had fallen out or loosened in the corner of my left eye. given that it would be hard for me to get a ride back to the clinic, i took some photos and sent them to my surgeon. he said that something may have gotten a bit loose but it wouldn't affect the final result. i have a followup appointment next wednesday (a week post surgery) so they'll look at it then.
> 
> i had wondered whether icing my eyes, or any injury for that matter, actually did anything. i was never sure whether it was worth the effort and discomfort to sit there with a bag of ice or not&#8230; but when the doc said not to worry about the stitch, he also said that "It looks like you're doing a good job with the cold compresses". i guess he could tell from the amount of swelling and bruising that i was using the frozen peas. so that reassured me.
> 
> thursday, which was the day after the procedure, was the worst day as far as swelling goes. yesterday and today the swelling is way down, although there are some bright colours adorning my face - blues, greens, magentas, oranges&#8230; i look very decorative.
> 
> the stitches used are dissolvable so they'll be disappearing on their own. i'm not sure whether it's because i've gotten used to them, or they've already started softening, but they're irritating my eyes less than 2-3 days ago for sure.
> 
> as for the proptosis of my eyes? i guess that's the question of the hour, right?
> 
> it sure seems like they're further back. of course, it's hard to tell whether they're further back or the rest of my face is just further forward with swelling, but i think i'm going to be happy. it's not going to be as drastic a change as it would be with bony decompression, but after things settle, and after my followup surgeries (blepharoplasty, etc), i'll look close to what i looked like pre-graves, i hope anyways.
> 
> for those interested, i'll keep updating. once the swelling and bruising are gone, i'll take some follow-up pictures before my next procedures. and so on.
> 
> wish me luck, and good luck to all of you out there!
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> _fatty tissue removed from behind my left globe._
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> _fatty tissue removed from behind my right globe._


You are the most awesome person to have shared all this with us. Bless your heart!!! And you look great; you "really" do! It is also quite easy to tell that you are quite the attractive young lady. Keep that ice on and let us know how your visit to the surgeon goes this Weds..


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## amiwoj

that's very sweet of you. 

i will definitely keep you posted!


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## Octavia

This is fascinating! Thank you for sharing.


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## tishka

Hello there .... And I understand what u are going thru. Hang in there...you will continue to see change for months. And yes the ice is real important for swelling....but please watch out with falling asleep with ice on your face .....u. could actually freeze your skin. I had orbital compression surgery with bone removal done a year ago .... Never have regret it


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## bigfoot

Yes, many thanks for sharing this! hugs6

Hope you are getting plenty of rest and things are going well!


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## amiwoj

thanks guys.

yesterday morning (1 week post op) i had a followup with the clinic and got thumbs up. healing is going nicely.

today was my 3rd day back to work and i'm finding it a bit more challenging than expected. i figured that during the healing process, my eyes would be the only thing affected. but by midday, i feel it in my whole body.

at home, i was fairly still, relaxed, either doing some emailing or watching a movie, which meant that my heart rate, blood pressure etc were probably fairly stable. i also didn't talk very much with the exception of phone calls from family and the odd conversation i had with myself. i also didn't have any stairs to run up in a hurry, problems to solve, and my eyes didn't have to move around too much since there was a lot less happening.

buy the end of the day yesterday i had a migraine that was exaggerated behind my eyes, and today i'm just nauseous.

so much for being a tough cookie...


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## Andros

amiwoj said:


> thanks guys.
> 
> yesterday morning (1 week post op) i had a followup with the clinic and got thumbs up. healing is going nicely.
> 
> today was my 3rd day back to work and i'm finding it a bit more challenging than expected. i figured that during the healing process, my eyes would be the only thing affected. but by midday, i feel it in my whole body.
> 
> at home, i was fairly still, relaxed, either doing some emailing or watching a movie, which meant that my heart rate, blood pressure etc were probably fairly stable. i also didn't talk very much with the exception of phone calls from family and the odd conversation i had with myself. i also didn't have any stairs to run up in a hurry, problems to solve, and my eyes didn't have to move around too much since there was a lot less happening.
> 
> buy the end of the day yesterday i had a migraine that was exaggerated behind my eyes, and today i'm just nauseous.
> 
> so much for being a tough cookie...


Did you go back too soon do you think? How are you doing today?


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## amiwoj

yeah, it probably was too soon. especially since i went back full blast and more. one night i worked until midnight and yesterday until 8.

but today is better, AND in half an hour my husband and i are going up north to visit his family (which i love) where they'll have homemade butter tarts ready and plenty of hugs. it'll be a relaxing day and a half.


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## Andros

amiwoj said:


> yeah, it probably was too soon. especially since i went back full blast and more. one night i worked until midnight and yesterday until 8.
> 
> but today is better, AND in half an hour my husband and i are going up north to visit his family (which i love) where they'll have homemade butter tarts ready and plenty of hugs. it'll be a relaxing day and a half.


Thank goodness; make sure you get plenty of rest this weekend and your fair share of butter tarts! LOL!!


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## amiwoj

my fair share? i doubt it. my husband usually steals them from under my nose.


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## runnerrosie22

Hi, this Sandy this was such helpful information and I can imagine what a load off the operation had to be for you. These thyroid eyes make you look all of your self esteme. I hope you have not gone off the message board, but if you have good luck as I can imagine you have a whole life. This eye business is like being in jail. I have been reading about people having really good luck with putting a drop of honey in each eye before bed and one woman said her eyes went down 70%. I want the fat taken out and be done with it. Is this considered awfully dangerout. Can't imagine getting that much fat out with that tiny cut on the side of your eye. Bye for now. I have thought about you all day, and have looked up several Dr's in Dallas that do this operation. You have really put me on go, as I am sure you have alot of other people. Sandy


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## proud-armywife

I wanted to say thank you- for offering us an insight to your surgery. I found it so interesting! I think your eyes look much different, in your post op photos I would not have been able to tell you had eye disease. It is encouraging to see that this disease can be treated, and I appreciate this post. I hope that your surgeries for the future go as well as this seemed to have gone, but for now...... you look fabulous!!!!


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## hyperinnyc

Thanks for the detail on the surgery! I'm scheduled for the exact same procedure (except I'm opting for general anesthesia) on 8/30. Do you have any pictures after full recovery? How long before the bruising and swelling went away? My surgeon is telling me that I may not see a change/retraction for a couple of months... I have less of the surprised look and a lot more swelling than you so I'm just curious how you fared in the long run.


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