Is a heavy brow area making you look tired, sad, or older than you feel? Like the rest of our face, our brow region loses collagen, muscle, and bone mass as we age, making the skin susceptible to sagging. As a result, our upper face can appear heavy and drooped. A surgical brow lift can lift the forehead to a more youthful-looking position and create a lighter, more open, and fresher appearance to the face.
The Brow Lift Procedure
“A brow lift can have a dramatic, positive impact on a person’s appearance,” says Dr. Robert Wilke, a board-certified plastic surgeon and partner with Edina Plastic Surgery. “It not only elevates the brow to a more youthful position on the face but also improves the overall shape of the brow. The ideal candidate for this procedure is someone with low or flat eyebrows, heavy upper eyelid skin, and prominent forehead wrinkles. When the brow is lifted in surgery, it can also significantly improve upper eyelid hooding, but in some cases, an upper lid blepharoplasty may also be recommended. A brow lift also helps to improve deep forehead wrinkles, giving a refreshed appearance to the face.”
3 Types of Brow Lift Surgery Techniques
“Many patients don’t realize that a brow lift is a highly customized surgery,” explains Dr. Wilke. “Each of our faces is unique, so the needs of each patient will vary. A brow lift can go beyond just elevating the brows; it can also tighten loose forehead skin, enhance the arch of the eyebrows, reduce lateral hooding of the upper eyelids, and sometimes improves asymmetries between the eyebrows. Depending on the visible signs of aging in your forehead area, your plastic surgeon will choose one of three brow lift techniques to help you achieve your aesthetic goals.”
Endoscopic Brow Lift
The endoscopic brow lift is the most common technique. It makes three to five small incisions behind the hairline. An endoscope (a flexible, tubular instrument) with a camera is inserted and used to visualize the surgery location. Next, the brow is lifted to an optimal position and secured internally. The endoscopic brow lift is a less invasive approach for patients who want to rejuvenate their brows without significant downtime or scarring.
Open Brow Lift
“If a patient has very heavy brows, an open brow lift technique may be most appropriate,” advises Dr. Wilke. “In this procedure, a longer incision is made, extending across the top of the scalp or along the front hairline. Next, excess scalp or forehead skin is removed to create a tighter, more lifted brow. This method involves more downtime and scarring but is the most powerful technique for achieving brow elevation. An open brow lift with an incision along the hairline is also best if someone has a very high forehead. This approach allows us to lower the hairline in addition to lifting the brow.”
Temporal Brow Lift
The temporal technique may be best for patients with droop that is limited to the outer brow. With this technique, an incision is placed near the hairline in the temple region, then the outer portion of the brow is lifted and anchored into its new position. The temporal brow lift is best for patients with flat or down-sloping lateral brows but do not have droop of the medial brow.
Will I Need an Eyelid Lift with my Brow Lift?
“For full upper face rejuvenation, a patient may need a combination of brow lift surgery and eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, especially if there is pronounced sagging in the upper eyelids,” says Dr. Wilke. “Blepharoplasty restores a more youthful appearance to the eye area by excising excess skin and then tightening the skin of the upper or lower eyelids or both. It reduces hooding and drooping of upper eyelids and can remove heavy bags under the eyes. Even though a brow lift will lead to some tightening of the skin on the upper eyelids it may not be enough to correct significant hooding of the upper lids. But every case is unique and your surgeon can go over options with you to determine if a combination of these procedures is appropriate.”
What is the Recovery Like After Brow Lift Surgery?
Most patients experience head pain for 12 to 24 hours after brow lift surgery. Bruising and swelling, especially around the eyes, are also typical and generally resolve within one or two weeks. Patients must keep their heads elevated during this time to reduce fluid buildup and swelling and to encourage faster healing. Most patients can be back to work within seven to 10 days. Anticipate four months for a full recovery.
Are There Any Risks Associated with Brow Lift Surgery?
“Just like any other plastic surgery, there are risks associated with brow lift surgery, but they are very rare,” explains Dr. Wilke. “Some decrease in sensation in the forehead and scalp in the first few months after surgery is very common. Other risks that are more rare include temporary weakness of the muscles that lift the brow, and loss of hair growth along incision scars.”
The Results of Brow Lift Surgery
“Brow lift surgery results in an elevated brow line and a more open and youthful-looking appearance to the upper face,” says Dr. Wilke. Although natural aging will continue, and your brow position may gradually descend over time, the results of brow lift surgery are long-lasting. Most patients can enjoy and maintain their refreshed appearance for years, especially when they are diligent about leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding smoking and excess sun exposure. My patients often remark on how much more confident they feel after brow lift surgery because their face more accurately expresses how they feel on the inside.”
Are you interested in brow lift surgery? Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss this procedure with Dr. Robert Wilke or another board-certified plastic surgeon at Edina Plastic Surgery by calling (612) 688-3177, texting (952)925-1765, or CLICKING HERE!
