Well-recognized aerobics/dance coach and facialist Katrin Väli had an eyelift surgery at Christinas Clinic this summer and has agreed to share her experience.

‘Years of stage make-up has left its mark’

I’ve been needing to wear stage make-up since I was 14. This means, that every time the make-up was removed, the skin on my face and eyelids got stretched. For years, I’ve spent countless minutes in front of the mirror in the morning to try and accentuate my eyes with special make-up – to make them look bigger and brighter. Yet for the last 6 months prior to the procedure my eyes had started looking even smaller and duller.

At first I thought it must just be general fatigue or exhaustion from all the training but I found out that the muscles around my eyelids had weakened, making the eyelids droopy in return. It was at that point that I decided to look into having a consultation about getting an eyelid lift.

‘My friends were against it to begin with’

At first, my friends and family were very sceptical about the procedure saying ‘Katrin, it’s not worth it, it’s too risky and you’ll end up having your eyes bruised and swollen for the whole summer’. But despite their concerns I had already made up my mind to go through with the procedure. I looked into all the different providers and clinics but ended up choosing Christinas Clinic because of their 25 years of experience and I’m so happy I did. The Director of the clinic took her time to just explain and talk me through what the procedure would be like and how it would affect me before and after.

‘The Botox moved the eyebrow arch to its correct position’

During the consultation it was explained to me that the eyelids should be seen in combination with the forehead. I had a very strong forehead with my eyebrows very high which led the Director of the clinic to recommend getting the eyelid lift in parallel with botulinum injections on my forehead. The injections were done in 15 minutes on the day before the main procedure and I was happy with the results immediately. Even my friends and family were surprised how big a difference the injections made on their own by helping shift the eyebrow arches back to the right position.

‘The eyelid lift only took 30 minutes’

I wasn’t particularly nervous going into the procedure since everything had been explained to me in detail and I’d already met the extremely professional team.

Upon getting to the clinic I was immediately greeted by the nurse who led me to my room. This was followed by the final consultation with the surgeon conducting the procedure, Dr. Papackys. He drew the incision lines onto my eyelids with a marker to talk me through everything one more time.

My biggest fear was the general anaesthesia but the anaesthesiologist was fantastic in addressing my concerns and I managed to fall asleep in the operation theatre in a very good mood.

The procedure itself only took about 30 minutes after which I was taken to my room for a 4-hour recovery period with a cold compress. After that I was already driven home by a driver.

‘Endless compliments from others’

There was some minor swelling around my eyelids post-surgery but the threads were removed after 4 days and I took it easy for the next couple of weeks (for example – as a dance coach I only demonstrated the moves without doing the whole routine along). After about three weeks my eyes had recovered 100%  and the results looked fantastic – I once again have bright and expressive almond-shaped eyes, bringing me compliments from people all around me every day.

I’m so grateful to the Christinas Clinic team and would certainly recommend discussing your options with the specialists to anyone with any eyelid issues.

Commenting on the procedure is Christinas Clinic Director Brit-Carmen Nolan:

‘Eyelid surgery is a great example of aesthetic surgery offering a chance to create noticeable and effective changes with minimal intervention. In Katrin’s case, the need for the procedure arose from both genetics as well as years of heavy make-up application and removal. Although she is a young woman, her upper eyelids had got truly droopy and the excess/stretched out skin needed to be removed.

Attention! This is a healthcare service. Christinas Clinic is licensed by the Health Board, permit L04361 (CBF Medical OÜ). The operations and procedures are performed by healthcare professionals.