Lauren (not her real name) says that every girl is beautiful just the way they are. Some are perfectly happy with their monolids, which is great. We should love our natural features, after all.

Undergoing cosmetic surgery is a personal choice. In Lauren’s case, she was born with one single eyelid and one double eyelid.

Her work as the Public Relations Manager for a government-linked company meant that she represented her employer in press conferences and frequently appeared in the newspapers and on television.

The correction of her eyelid was not just physical but a confidence booster as well.

Lauren says you will have to decide for yourself – will it make you happy? Is it worth the cost? No one else can make this decision for you.

Eyelid surgery is getting common for Asians who do not have an eyelid crease, a condition known as ‘monolid’.

In Lauren’s case, it affected her confidence and gave her anxiety whenever she knew her picture would be taken.

At school, she was teased constantly by her classmates and her self-confidence took a knock. She became self-conscious despite being in a high-flying job.

As weird as it sounds, observing other people’s eyes became an obsession with her, and she would often compare their eyes with hers.

In the end she told herself, “You’re not going to be happy or confident until there’s a change, so buck-up and see a cosmetic surgeon to discuss the treatment options.

During the consultation for her eyelid surgery, the doctor asked which technique she would opt for – the incision method or the suture method.

The incision technique allows greater change as the doctor can reshape the eyes and remove any eyelid fat. The effects also last longer than the suture technique.

Correspondingly, the recovery takes longer but should be worth the wait.

Both the incision and suture methods produce the same results if your aim is to achieve double eyelids.

Lauren’s doctor assured her that there will be minimum pain or discomfort and the actual process would take less than 30 minutes. She opted for the incision method.

On the day of the procedure, her boyfriend Jason (not his real name) volunteered to drive her there and keep her company.

At the surgery, she was taken to a room where the doctor drew lines on her eyelid with a sharpie.

Next, she was wheeled to the adjacent room, given a sedative and a local anesthetic jab to the eyelid. She wasn’t knocked out but was comfortably relaxed.

As her doctor had promised, there was absolutely no pain or discomfort during the surgery.

She was to return after two days to remove the tape, which was necessary to protect the wound and stitches. Back home, she took care to rest well to help the wound heal better.

She slept most of the time, icing her eyelid when she wasn’t sleeping.

Jason drove her back for the tape removal on day three and yes, she could see better. But her eyelid was still swollen and she could feel some “weight” on her eye.

One week after her procedure, it was time for the big reveal – removing the stitches.

This was the only part in the process where she felt some slight pain, but her doctor reassured her by saying that her eyelid was recovering well.

Her beautiful new double eyelid was swollen, and she was impatient for its full recovery. When she lifted her eyes, she felt like something was weighing it down.

However, this weighty feeling lessened every day, slowly but surely. One month after removing her stitches, Lauren saw her doctor for a final check-up.

Her doctor smiled as he declared it a success. He said the results looked very natural.

Lauren says that the purpose of sharing her experience is to help other girls who are considering cosmetic surgery because knowledge was something she wished she had when she was younger.

Cosmetic surgery is often criticised as an ego trip for people who are superficial.

However, for many, surgery is a boost to their self-esteem because of their history of being teased or laughed at when they were young.

As it turned out, all it took was a simple procedure to restore a girl’s self-confidence and zest for life.

TELEME Healing Life Stories is a collection of inspirational stories of how ordinary people triumph over their health conditions and recover to lead a healthier life after that.

Feel free to email [email protected] to share your story or download the app to chat with a health practitioner.

You can also click here to learn more about the condition and read other health educational articles.