Dr. Rami Batniji, MD

Training and board certification

Source for all rows: source

• Board certification: "board-certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology."
• Fellow, American College of Surgeons; member, Orange County Medical Association.
• In private practice in Newport Beach since 2006.
• Society roles: Chairman of the AAFPRS CME Committee (2014 to present), AAFPRS Treasurer, ABFPRS examiner, member of the AAFPRS Fellowship Improvement Task Force.
• Clinical Lecturer, Department of Otolaryngology, Indiana University School of Medicine (2005-2006).
• Member of the Departments of Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach (eyelid surgery).

Eyelid surgery work

• Upper blepharoplasty. Usually performed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. Incisions sit in the natural upper eyelid crease and excess skin is removed. Fat is removed only when it is excessive and adds to hooding, because the site states fat removal can leave a hollow look. Surgery takes 30 minutes to 1 hour (eyelid surgery).
• Lower blepharoplasty. The incision is placed inside the lower eyelid for fat alone, or a few millimeters below the lash line for fat and skin. For a tear trough or nasojugal groove, the lower lid fat is loosened and repositioned into the hollow with its blood supply attached. Lid laxity or malposition is corrected with a lateral canthopexy, lateral canthoplasty or tarsal strip; excess orbicularis muscle is trimmed. The lower lid lift is often combined with a midface or cheek lift. Surgery takes about one to two hours.
• Brow lift. Dr. Batniji typically performs the endoscopic forehead lift through three to five small incisions in the hairline, holding the brow with a suture technique. He does not cut the frown muscles and uses Botox for them instead (brow lift).
• Surgery takes place at Newport Beach Surgery Center, Fashion Island Surgical Center and Beverly Hills Surgical Center.

Galleries:

• Upper blepharoplasty: 9 before-and-after cases (source).
• Lower blepharoplasty: 5 cases (source).
• Brow lift: 15 cases (source).

The site has no separate page for ptosis repair, double eyelid surgery or revision eyelid surgery.

Other procedures

The practice offers facelift (deep plane, mid and mini), neck lift, rhinoplasty including revision and ethnic rhinoplasty, chin implants, buccal fat reduction, lip reshaping, otoplasty and Mohs skin cancer reconstruction, plus a med spa with injectables, lasers and skin treatments (source).

Insurance and cost

• Insurance will not cover upper blepharoplasty done for cosmetic reasons; if sagging upper lids obstruct the field of vision, health insurance may cover it (eyelid surgery).
• Lower eyelid surgery is usually not covered; in rare cases where the lower lids obstruct vision, insurance may cover some or all of the cost.
• Eyelid surgery price range on the page: "Per Case Basis* ($5k - $13k)."
• Brow lift: "ranges from $10,000 to $30,000"; a brow lift may be partially covered when brow sagging causes hooding that blocks vision (brow lift).
• The site has a medical financing page (financing).

Recovery

• Recovery time listed on the eyelid page: 12-21 days; procedure time 1 hour; outpatient (eyelid surgery).
• Back to work: one week off is generally recommended after upper eyelid surgery; about one week after lower eyelid surgery.
• Sutures out: one week after surgery.
• Exercise: light walking within a few days; strenuous activity avoided for at least one to two weeks.
• Final result: visible within several weeks to a few months once swelling resolves. Upper results last at least 5 years for most patients; lower results 10 years or more.
• Brow lift: return to work after 7 to 10 days; strenuous activity after 3 to 4 weeks (brow lift).