Training and board certification
Source for all rows: source
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| College | Clemson University Calhoun Honors College; B.S. Biosystems Engineering, M.S. Bioengineering |
| Medical school | Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; Alpha Omega Alpha |
| Residency | Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago |
| Fellowship | Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago |
| Fellowship | Pediatric Otolaryngology, Cleft & Craniofacial Surgery, University of California - Davis |
- Board certification as printed: "double board-certified facial plastic surgeon by the American Board of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery and by the American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery."
- In 2025 she received the Jack R. Anderson Prize for Scholastic Excellence from the American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. The prize goes each year to the highest combined score on the board certification examination.
- She worked as an engineer before medical school.
Eyelid surgery work
- Upper blepharoplasty. Dr. Hicks makes an incision in the natural crease of the upper eyelid, removes excess skin, and reduces or repositions bulging fat (source).
- Lower blepharoplasty. The incision is placed just under the lash line or on the inside of the eyelid. Skin may be excised, tightened or left alone depending on anatomy, and bulging fat pockets are reduced or repositioned.
- Anesthesia and time. Local anesthesia, sedation or general anesthesia, depending on the extent of surgery. The operation takes 1 to 2 hours, and incisions close with tiny sutures.
- The page states upper blepharoplasty can improve peripheral vision. It lists brow lift, facelift, Botox and chemical peels as procedures that may be combined with eyelid surgery.
- Gallery. The gallery page has an Eyelid & Brow Rejuvenation section of captioned cases. Captions include transconjunctival lower blepharoplasty with skin pinch, upper blepharoplasty, fat grafting around the eyes and cheeks, periorbital CO2 laser resurfacing, and endoscopic and temporal browlifts (source). The face and neck section shows deep plane facelifts, many combined with blepharoplasty and browlift.
Other procedures
The brow lift page describes three techniques: endoscopic, with four small incisions behind the hairline; trichophytic, with an incision along the hairline that lifts the brow while lowering or keeping the hairline; and temporal, with incisions in the temple hairline to lift the outer brow (source). The practice also performs deep plane face and neck lift, rhinoplasty, fat grafting, lip lift, hairline lowering, laser resurfacing and injectables. Surgery takes place in a QUAD A accredited facility (source).
Insurance and cost
The site publishes no prices and makes no statement about insurance or Medicare coverage for eyelid surgery.
Recovery
- Redness, swelling, tenderness, numbness and bruising around the eyelids for a couple of weeks.
- Work and most activities: after a week.
- Strenuous workouts: avoided for at least 10-14 days.
- Contact lenses: avoided for the first week.
- Brow lift: most symptoms resolve within 1 to 2 weeks; light activity and work after a week (source).