What is a Brow Lift Surgery?

A brow lift can help you eliminate deep frown lines and excess droopy skin around the forehead. It can also help you appear more alert and refreshed.

During the initial consultation, your surgeon will evaluate your facial features to determine your best surgical path. They will explain the procedure steps, recovery process, and risks.

How It’s Done

When your face ages, the tissues and muscles around your eyes and forehead can loosen, causing the skin to wrinkle and droop. A brow lift can correct these changes, giving you a younger appearance. This procedure is done on both men and women who want to reduce signs of aging, and it can also help those with inherited conditions such as a low or heavy brow.

A brow lift surgery can be performed through one large incision across your forehead or, in an endoscopic procedure, through a series of small incisions behind your hairline. Once the medical practitioner has access to the underlying tissues, they will pull and tighten them, which helps elevate your brow. Then, they remove excess skin and close the incisions with sutures or staples.

Other brow lift methods include the direct or thread lift, where a medical practitioner uses a needle and string to lift the tissues. This method is usually used for those with heavier eyebrows (male gender or people with high forehead hairlines).

While the effects of a brow lift can be long-lasting, the natural aging process will cause the tissues and muscles to droop once again over time. You can slow these effects by staying hydrated, eating well, and not smoking. Using sunscreen daily can help safeguard your skin against sun damage.

Recovery

A brow lift requires some swelling and bruising, but these side effects should disappear within days or weeks. Some people may also experience achiness, scalp tightness, and headaches, but these symptoms should all be controlled with medication.

Before your surgery, your doctor will give you detailed instructions on preparing, including guidelines for eating and drinking, as well as avoiding specific vitamins and medications. Be sure to tell your doctor about any pre-existing medical conditions, recent surgeries, or any allergies you have.

Depending on your doctor’s recommendations, you will have either local or general anesthesia for your brow lift. You will likely spend no more than two hours in the operating room and do not need to stay overnight, but you will need to have someone drive you home afterward and, if possible, remain with you for the first day or two.

You must keep your head elevated as much as possible, especially when sleeping, and use cold compresses around the surgical site to minimize swelling. Be careful not to apply the cold compress too close to your eyes, and do not cover the area with a bandage or dressing until instructed to do so by your doctor. You must carefully wash the sutures or staple lines with hydrogen peroxide twice daily and coat them with antibiotic ointment to help prevent clotted blood and promote healing.

The Procedure

If you are concerned about forehead wrinkles or deep frown lines that make you angry or stressed, a brow lift can help reduce their appearance. It can also correct sagging brows, making your eyes appear more open and youthful. It is most commonly performed on people in the 40 to 60 age range, but it can benefit anyone who feels their upper face looks too heavy or saggy.

Before your procedure, you will meet with one of our skilled surgeons to discuss your objectives. They will evaluate your medical history and review any medications you take. During your physical exam, your surgeon will request that you perform a variety of facial expressions to determine the functionality of your muscles.

Once you’re under anesthesia, your surgeon will make an incision at the hairline. They will carefully lift and adjust fat, tissues, and facial muscles. They will then close the incision and wrap your head with a bandage or dressing.

The endoscopic brow lift is less invasive than the classic coronal lift, resulting in minimal bruising and a shorter healing time. It also has the advantage of treating the lateral brow area (frown lines) while avoiding the sensitive skin around the eye. With this technique, your surgeon will make several small incisions hidden in the hairline and use a tool to release and elevate the tissue.

Results

Depending on the surgical technique used, the results of a brow lift will vary. However, most patients report looking younger and more rested after surgery. In many cases, the results of a brow lift can be seen for years.

A low-hanging forehead or deep creases across the forehead can give the appearance of aging when combined with heavy eyelids. This may result in a person’s face and especially the eyes conveying a look of tiredness or fatigue even when they are feeling well. A brow lift is a popular procedure to correct these cosmetic issues and restore a youthful appearance to the face, particularly around the eyes.

Choosing a medical practitioner with extensive experience performing this procedure is essential to minimize risks.

Before the surgery, discussing your health history with the surgeon, including any previous surgeries you have had, is essential. It would be best to inform your doctor of your medications or supplements. Smokers are at greater risk of complications, so quitting before the procedure is advisable.

Read more: Top 5 Best Practices for Kubernetes Persistent Volume Management