Brow Lift
As we age, many people will develop a descent of the brow. As the brow falls below the bone around the eye, the upper eyelid will begin to look full and heavy. Many people think that they need an eyelid surgery to get rid of this extra skin, when they actually need to elevate the brow. A brow lift can be done in different ways. In the past, many patients would have a coronal lift performed. For this, an incision is made from ear to ear over the top of the head. While this does elevate the brow, it also results in a large scar, with possible hair loss, and scalp numbness from nerve damage. A much better technique is an endoscopic brow lift, where 4-5 small incisions are discreetly made behind the hairline, and the forehead and brow tissues are freed up. The muscles between the brows are released to help soften the glabellar creases, and the forehead is then elevated and fastened to small dissolvable implants to hold it in place. This is an excellent procedure for patients who want an elevation of the whole brow and forehead, and who have deep glabellar folds that they wish to relax. It is also a way to help improve the appearance of the crow’s feet.
An alternative to a full endoscopic lift is the temporal browlift. This surgery limits the incisions to the temporal temple area only, so is great for people who have only a bit of lateral brow droop. A small incision is made behind the hairline over each temple, and the lateral brow area is freed up and elevated. Deep sutures are used to hold the brow in position.
The elevation obtained with both the full endoscopic lift and the temporal lift is about 4-5mm. This results in a very natural appearance, and you will not look at all surprised. The recovery is fairly quick, with only a minimal amount of bruising in most patients. It is a great addition to almost any upper lid surgery, as it will help with the heaviness that many people have at the outer corner of the eyelid, and will also help to decrease the appearance of the crow’s feet for an overall, harmonized upper facial rejuvenation.