Training and board certification
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| College | UCLA, B.S. in Biology |
| Medical school | University of Wisconsin-Madison, M.D. |
| Internship | University of Hawaii |
| Residency | Ophthalmology, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
| Fellowship | Corneal Surgery/External Diseases and Oculoplastic/Orbital Surgery, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia |
- Returned to Hawaii in 1998; opened a Pali Momi satellite office in 2000; opened his own practice at the Ala Moana Building in 2004; moved main offices to the Pan Am Building in 2012.
- Owns the Surgery Center of the Pacific at Hale Pawaa, Honolulu.
- Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
Eyelid surgery work
- Upper eyelid blepharoplasty. Removes excess eyelid skin and underlying fat; incision along the marked eyelid crease, closed with sutures. Procedure time 45 minutes to 1 hour (source).
- Ptosis surgery. Performed on the levator muscle; sutures tighten the levator to lift the eyelid, with eyelid heights adjusted to match; forms the eyelid crease at the incision (source).
- Lower eyelid blepharoplasty. Incision under the eyelash line to expose and remove excess fat pads; procedure time 45 minutes (source).
- Double eyelid surgery (Asian eyelids). Forms an upper eyelid crease where the muscle attachments for a natural double fold are absent or too low; generally removes less skin than standard blepharoplasty; can be combined with ptosis repair when both are present (source).
- Eyebrow ptosis repair (brow lift). Direct eyebrow lift (incision above the brow) or pretrichial eyebrow lift (incision at the hairline); removes excess skin to raise the brow (eyebrows).
- Combined upper and lower eyelid surgery takes about 1.5 hours of procedure time; total visit to the surgical center runs about 3 hours including check-in and anesthesia.
Other procedures
The site also lists cataract surgery, general eye exams, facial treatments and non-surgical options (per the site navigation) (hugohigamd.com).
Insurance and cost
- Upper eyelid blepharoplasty and ptosis repair are covered by insurance only with a demonstrated medical indication, subject to testing and insurer approval; without one, the procedure is cosmetic and self-pay (source).
- Lower eyelid surgery is not covered by insurance and is considered cosmetic (source).
- Eyebrow ptosis repair follows the same insurance-vs-cosmetic rule (eyebrows).
- In-office cosmetic consultations cost $100, applicable to the procedure cost; a non-refundable $250 deposit reserves a surgery date. A 2025 procedure list names blepharoplasty, ptosis, browlift and other treatments but publishes no per-procedure dollar amounts (source).
Recovery
- Sutures removed at 7 days.
- Bruising of the skin lasts 10 to 14 days.
- Swelling resolves over 1 to 4 months; eyelids look much better by one month.
- Pain sensation nerves cut during surgery take about 2 months to regrow, by which time the skin has healed.