Fixing Bulging Eyes

LOS ANGELES (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's a devastating condition known to strike women in the prime of their lives. Graves' disease causes the body's immune system to attack itself. It can dramatically change a person's appearance -- and for one entertainer, it nearly ended her career.

A treatment many women use to look younger gave Graves' patient Tracey Whitney permission to pursue her dreams.

Whitney is used to being the center of attention. She has toured with famous musicians like Ray Charles, but this striking performer says her looks nearly ended her career. She had Graves' disease, which attacked her eyes and caused them to bulge from her face.

"People were looking at me, and even if they weren't, I felt like they were looking at me because I looked so crazy," Whitney told Ivanhoe.

Many Graves' patients struggle with facial changes. For about 10 percent, the disfigurement is so severe they need surgery. Robert Goldberg, M.D., an ophthalmic plastic surgeon at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif., had a unique solution for Whitney. He gave her a treatment typically used to get rid of wrinkles.

"I'm really sympathetic and sensitive to what it's like to look in the mirror and see someone who's not you," Dr. Goldberg told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Goldberg sculpted Whitney's face using an injectable gel. It replenished the tissue around her eyes. Immediately, her face filled out.

"I started crying," Whitney said. "I was like, 'Oh my God, that's my face again!'"

For her, it's much more than a cosmetic procedure.

"It gave me back my life," Whitney said.

She has re-energized her career with a new video, and the woman who was afraid to show her face is now shining in the spotlight.

The injections cost between $600 and $1,200 dollars per session. Most insurance plans don't cover the treatments, and patients receive treatments every six to 11 months. For Whitney, the injections replaced the need for surgery.

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If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Lindsay Braun at lbraun@ivanhoe.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Danica Fiaschetti, COA
UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA
fiaschetti@jsei.ucla.edu
http://www.ngdf.org