Brow Lift
Have you ever been accused of looking tired or angry when you are really having a great day? Have you noticed that your eyes look half asleep? Or, lines and furrows have appeared between your eyebrows and across your forehead? If so, a brow lift may be of benefit to you.
As we age, gravity, heredity, sun exposure, and poor nutrition takes its toll on our face. A brow lift (forehead lift) is a facial plastic surgery procedure that raises the eyebrows to improve sagging upper eyelid skin, grooves between the eyebrows, and horizontal lines on the forehead returning the eyes and brow to a more youthful, refreshed look. A brow lift may be performed in several ways the most common being the coronal lift, the pre-trichal lift, the mid-forehead lift, and the endoscopic lift.
When to Choose a Brow Lift
Because of his extensive training, practice and skill in the art and science of facial surgery, Dr. McMenamin is the ideal surgeon to perform your brow lift in Sacramento. This procedure, which utilizes skin and tissue tightening techniques to remove drooping skin around the eyes, can help you appear more youthful, vibrant and rested. This customized procedure, which may be combined with other facial surgeries performed by Dr. McMenamin works to greatly reduce or remove:
- Drooping brows
- Glabellar lines
- Crow's feet
- Other signs of aging around the eyes
In your consultation with Dr. McMenamin, you will discuss both your aesthetic goals and the structure of your face. This will help Dr. McMenamin create an individualized surgical plan so he can achieve an ideal cosmetic result for you. Dr. McMenamin asks that you be a nonsmoker, and otherwise healthy, as this will aid the recovery process.
Before and After Brow Lift, Sacramento CA
View more brow lift before and after photos
*actual patient, your results may vary
What to Expect During a Brow Lift
A coronal forehead lift involves an incision across the top of your head basically from ear to ear. Through this incision, your surgeon can alter the muscles (frontalis, procerus, and corrugators) that cause horizontal forehead wrinkles and scowling. After doing this, your surgeon will actually remove about a 1-2 cm strip of your scalp and sew the remaining scalp back together. Although this may sound gruesome, it is a reliable technique in brow lift surgery. The main disadvantage is that you will be numb on the top of your head for about six months, after which time most of the sensation usually returns. This technique also raises your hairline, which can be a problem for those with a pre-existing high forehead who also wear their hair back. The advantages of this technique are that it is long lasting, rarely needing revision as you age. Also, the scars are concealed behind the hairline and are not seen after they heal. This procedure is successful for both men and women except in men with a receding hairline.
Pretrichal forehead lifts are performed by making an incision just inside the hairline with continuation into the temple area. The skin is lifted up to give access to the muscles of the forehead. Small amounts of the muscles used to furrow your brow are removed to soften furrows between the brows. Excess skin is removed to lift the brows and the skin of the upper eyelids, but not so much as to give you a startled look and smooths the vertical lines on the forehead. Because the incision is in the front hairline, your hairline will not be moved higher. Therefore, this technique is best for those with an average or long forehead. Generally, you will have no or little numbness on top of your scalp. By placing the incision slightly inside the front hairline, the scar is well concealed. However, some patients may need to wear bangs to conceal the scar. The pretrichal forehead lift offers more lift and a longer lasting lift than either the coronal lift or an endoscopic lift.
The mid-forehead lift is sometimes used in men, particularly if they have a preexisting forehead furrow and a receding hairline. In this procedure, an incision is made across the forehead in the existing line. The same muscle work is accomplished and excess skin is removed to lift the brow and eyelid skin. When the incision is healed and the scar has matured, it is nearly imperceptible. This procedure is not recommended for those men with short foreheads.
The endoscopic forehead lift involves three to six short incisions behind your hairline. Through these small incisions, an endoscope with a tiny camera on the end is inserted. This allows your cosmetic surgeon to see under your skin without making a long incision. A small amount of muscle can be removed to weaken the scowl-causing muscles but will not be able to directly alter the muscle that causes horizontal wrinkles. However, no skin or scalp tissue is removed. Instead, sutures are used to pull up the skin and the sutures are secured at the site of the incisions with the same sutures or with tiny screws drilled into the skull. Because excess scalp or skin is not removed, there exists a far greater potential for your forehead and brows to droop again after an endoscopic lift. Most studies have shown they do not last as long as those lifts are performed with a longer incision. Finally, endoscopic lifts, like coronal lifts, raise your hairline and rarely cause numbness on the scalp. Because of the high incidence of relapse following endoscopic brow lifts, leading to unhappy patients, they are not performed by this cosmetic surgeon.
Brow lifts are performed in our accredited operating room using local anesthesia and IV sedation to make you very comfortable. We attach a number of monitors to watch your pulse, blood pressure, heart, and blood oxygen level throughout the procedure just like in the hospital.
Recovery and Results
At the conclusion of this surgery, all incisions are closed with sutures. No skin staples are used. A gauze bandage is wrapped around your forehead and head to apply gentle pressure. Gentle pressure decreases your risk for developing a hematoma, a collection of blood under the skin. The most common complaint in the first 24 hours after a brow lift is a frontal headache. Your forehead will be numb when you first get home. However, you will be asked to start taking Extra-strength Tylenol right away. You will be sent home with a stronger prescription pain medication if you need it, but because of untoward side effects, i.e., nausea, vomiting, constipation, we ask you to take Tylenol only, particularly in the first 24 hours.
Recovery after a brow lift, regardless of where the incision is, involves keeping the head elevated for several days. Elevation of the head to at least a 65 degree angle, even to sleep, (as in a recliner chair) will help decrease the amount of swelling. Ice packs applied for about 20 minutes out of the hour for the first few days will help with swelling, too. The less swelling you have, the less discomfort you will have. Bruising is a usual side effect to any surgery and in a forehead lift can be very minimal to dark raccoon eyes. You be asked to refrain from all medications containing aspirin, anti-inflammatories (Motrin, Aleve, Excedrin, etc.), tobacco products, vitamins, herbal supplements, and alcohol for the two weeks before and after surgery. Your prescription medications will be reviewed prior to surgery also. This will minimize bruising as well as your risk for bleeding.
At the first post-op visit, the gauze bandage will be removed so the surgical site can be examined. You will then be rewrapped in a new gauze bandage. It will be removed at post-op day 5 or 6. The sutures will be removed at approximately nine days after your surgery. You will be able to wash your hair after all the sutures are out but ask that you not use a curling iron or blow dryer for the first couple of weeks. Some numbness and temporary discomfort may persist around the incision for several days. It will improve slowly over time.
Dr. McMenamin and staff will be happy to answer any questions that you have regarding brow lifts. Please give us a call or send us an email to schedule a consultation or ask questions. (916) 564-8888 The Cosmetic Surgery Center of Sacramento, Patrick McMenamin, MD, Diplomate of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.