Steven Covici, MD

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5.0

Nov 25, 2024

I met Dr. Covici in the spring of 2012, after almost a year of bulging eyes due to Graves’ disease/thyroid eye disease. My eyes hurt, looked awful, and made me feel extremely insecure despite being someone who didn’t care about appearances before I got sick. My friends and family who knew me before Graves’ all agreed that I looked very different. From the very first appointment, Dr. Covici reassured me that what I was feeling was normal – that no one in theirs 20s should have to go through what I had been through with visible proof all over my face. He assured that everything would be treated as medically necessary rather than cosmetic because this was due to a medical condition. He performed numerous tests and reviewed my long medical history to ensure I was ready for surgery. He also reviewed photos of my eyes and face before Graves’ so could see how drastically the disease had affected my eyes. He even brought one of the photos into the OR with him. In September 2012, Dr. Covici performed bilateral orbital decompression along with an ENT surgeon. We knew the risk of double vision was great due to the need to remove so much bone and fat from my orbit, but it was a risk I was comfortable taking and one that Dr. Covici approached with compassion and confidence. Fortunately, I woke up with single vision. The recovery process was quite extensive, but I immediately received compliments from people who could see that I had my “old eyes” back. My eyes no longer bulged, but my upper eyelids had stretched and retracted so much that I required an additional surgery to loosen and lower them. In July 2013, Dr. Covici performed a bilateral repair of upper eyelid retraction. Again, it was a medically necessary procedure performed in the hospital. The recovery was much easier and I am feeling great and definitely looking like my pre-Graves’ self. Dr. Covici and his staff have been so wonderful. From accepting my frantic phone calls the morning of surgery to allowing me to text them photos of my bruises to make sure it was normal, and rearranging their own schedules to accommodate my busy life. Dr. Covici is the first physician I felt truly listened to me and understood that my concerns were not cosmetic but vital to returning me to my previous self. I would highly recommend Dr. Covici to anyone with Graves’ disease, thyroid eye disease, Graves’ ophthalmopathy, proptosis, or eyelid retraction. Even if your eyes have not changed, it’s worthwhile to get some baseline tests and measurements so he knows exactly what he needs to do to return your eyes to their original state should anything change.

Kelly Packard — google_place

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