Eyebrow Lift
What is Eyebrow Lift Surgery?
An Eyebrow Lift, also known as a Brow Lift or a Forehead Lift, is a Facial Aesthetic surgery that aims to achieve a youthful look by reducing the wrinkles and lines on the forehead and by lifting the patient’s eyebrows.
Why is Eyebrow Lift performed?
Due to aging, the skin can lose its elasticity and might cause wrinkles and tired facial expressions. Patients may consider an Eyebrow Lift if they have sagging skin near their brow area or have uneven brows.
What are the conditions for Eyebrow Lift?
Due to the soft tissues and the skin not being able to restore their original position over time, the brow line typically begins to droop at age 35. Conspicuous wrinkles and fine lines may appear along the forehead. Patients above 40 years old usually make good candidates for Eyebrow Lift surgery. Patients also need to be healthy enough to undergo anesthesia.
What Are The Things To Be Considered Before Eyebrow Lift?
Before Eyebrow Lift surgery, patients should:
- Be at the hospital a day before their surgery for the pre operative tests to be performed.
- Stop smoking and consuming alcohol at least 2 weeks before the surgery to alleviate the risk of a blood clot.
- Avoid medication containing aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) for two weeks before and after surgery. These medications may increase the risk of internal bleeding.
- Should stop taking multivitamin supplements a week and Vitamin K supplements a month prior to the surgery.
- Stop taking oral contraceptives a month before the surgery.
- Confirm each medication and supplement they wish to take with their Patient Coordinator.
Also, the patient's face will be examined and measured, and the surgeon might have photographs taken so that the patient can compare the appearance before and after the Eyebrow lift surgery.
How is the Eyebrow Lift performed?
There are 2 commonly used Eyebrow Lifting techniques :
- Endoscopic Incision:
The forehead skin is lifted and any muscle adjustment is made under direct visualization. The resulting scar from a coronal brow lift is well concealed within the hair. - Coronal Incision:
The brow is lifted without altering the height of the front hairline. The resulting scar, while somewhat more visible, can often be hidden with bangs.
Both methods involve the Plastic Surgeon lifting the forehead tissues and fixing them at their new place using sutures.
A Coronal Incision is more invasive and is usually advised for patients with high foreheads, while the Endoscopic Incision is less invasive, leaves less scars and has a shooter recovery period.
Eyebrow Lift Surgery takes approximately 1 to 2 hours.
What are The Things To Be Considered After Eyebrow Lift?
After the procedure, patients are advised to:
- Rest with their head elevated.
- Apply cold compresses to relieve swelling.
- Avoid exposing their incisions to excessive pressure or motion.
- Avoid any type of facial treatment, microdermabrasion, or massage for 14 days after the procedure.
As the incisions heal, the patient might experience itching and numbness, which will likely go away within a few days.
What Are The Risks of Eyebrow Lift?
While Eyebrow Lift, especially Endoscopic Eyebrow Lift, is minimally invasive it still has risks like any other surgery. These risks include, but are not limited to:
- Scaring
- Changes in skin sensation
- Asymmetry of the brow
- Hair Loss
Asymmetry may even out during the healing process, if asymmetry is persistent revision surgery might be recommended.