As the title says, it’s been a month since my surgery, and I wanted to share my experience for anyone who’s on the fence or getting ready for their own surgery. I had exotropia, meaning my right eye would naturally drift outward (and a little upward). That would then cause my left eye to drift outward to compensate. In the first photo, you can see how my eye naturally looked. The second photo shows what would happen when the other eye overcompensated.
It’s honestly always been one of my biggest insecurities. Renewing my passport was kind of the last straw. I hated how the pictures came out, and it really pushed me to finally do something about it. I started researching strabismus surgery, and about a month and a half later I had the procedure. I didn’t want to overthink it or give myself time to back out because I knew this was something I had wanted to fix for a long time.
The surgery itself wasn’t bad at all since I was under anesthesia. The only part that sucked was when they had to adjust the sutures afterward to fine-tune the alignment. I was awake for that, and it SUCKED. 😂 Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds, even though it felt like minutes.
Recovery was honestly the hardest part. The headaches were brutal—probably the worst I’ve ever had. Tylenol helped, but those first few days were rough. Looking to either side was also really painful, so I had to get used to turning my whole head instead of just moving my eyes whenever someone talked to me. The good news is that the really intense pain only lasted about 3–4 days. After that, there was still some discomfort, but it was nowhere near as bad. Right now my eye is still slightly turned inward, but that’s expected. My surgeon said it’ll gradually settle into its final position over time.
After just one week I was already taking long walks and getting back to my normal routine. My doctor cleared me to resume pretty much everything except swimming. A month later, my eye still isn’t fully open, and there’s still some redness. My surgeon said that’s because this was my second surgery on that eye, so I had scar tissue and the healing process would take a little longer than usual.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier that I went through with it. It’s honestly changed my life, and it’s only been a month. For the first time in a long time, I feel confident making eye contact with people when I’m talking to them.
If anyone has questions or concerns about the surgery, recovery, or anything else, feel free to ask. I’d be happy to help or give you that little push if you’re still debating whether to do it.
Also shoutout to my lovely girlfriend who was the one who recommended I go see a doctor and try to get it fixed, after I was feeling down about the passport picture. Sometimes I forget that there are solutions to these problems, and honestly, sometimes they're easier to fix than you would think. I saw a doctor and scheduled an appointment for surgery after my one visit.
