A bride-to-be on the quest to look picture perfect on her big day had surgery to remove saggy skin from her eyelids costing $1.5k and says it was “worth every penny”
Self-conscious Kayley Abbott, 36, flew to Kaunas, Lithuania, March 13 2025, to have upper blepharoplasty surgery – removing part of her eyelids’ skin to prevent “hooded eyes”.
She had a nose job at the same time — with the three-hour long procedures costing $6,000 in total.
Kayley has found that people have said she looks “more awake” since her surgery seven weeks ago.
Now full of confidence, she can’t wait to tie the knot with fiancé, Simon Novakovic, 37, an operations director, September 9 2025.
Kayley, a self-employed beautician, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: “It sounds dramatic, but it really has changed my life.
“It’s really changed how I feel about myself in such a positive way.
“Everyone I saw said ‘your eyes look insanely better, you look more awake and younger’.
“I was immediately happy as soon as the swelling subsided”.
Kayley initially came across the surgery when her mum was looking into having the procedure, and then got a personalized quote from Fi Clinica.
She said: “I came across a Facebook page and told her about it years ago.
“I wasn’t born with sagging skin.
“I’m 36 now and I’ve tried Botox probably since I was 32 and it never helped.
“Over the last 18 months it’s worsened to the point it was affecting being able to wear mascara.
“It would just smudge and any makeup I put on my eyelids would just transfer and end up looking a mess really.
“I’m getting married later this year so decided I wanted it doing for my wedding.”
Kayley said the price “was a factor” as to why she chose to go abroad for her surgeries.
“I got a slight discount because I was having two-in-one,” she said.
“Normally you would pay $1,600 for your eyelid surgery and I paid $1,500.
“It’s been something that’s bothered me for a while now, so I just saved for it.”
Kayley stayed overnight at Fi Clinica in Kaunas and stayed in an apartment for a few days before and after her surgery, whilst she waited to be fit to fly home to the UK.
She said: “Afterwards I had stitches in my eyes with steri strips on.
“It was 11 days before the stitches came off.
“There was a bit of swelling, but it subsided quite quickly and I had no pain or discomfort.
“It can cause a bit of swelling on the inside of your eyelids, so I did have a bit of blurred vision.
“I had a follow-up with my surgeon in London 11 days after.
“That was a massive factor going abroad knowing I could have follow-up care in this country.”
Kayley’s fiancé, Simon, joined her on the trip to Lithuania for support.
She said: “He’s been really positive and encouraged the whole thing.
“He’s been very helpful, he’s been my live-in nurse.
“I just want to talk positively about it, there’s a lot of negativity and hate to women changing their appearance online.
“I get it to a certain extent, but for me it’s not just vanity.
“Being able to wear make-up and stuff like that again and not have it smudge is amazing.
You can follow Kayley under @kayley_abbott on TikTok.
Breakdown of costs –
Flights – $270
Accommodation – $400 for the week
Eyelid surgery – $1,500
Nose job – $4,400
