Brow Lift & Forehead Lift

A brow lift is an operation that lifts sagging eyebrows, corrects eyelid hooding, smooths forehead furrows and/or improves glabellar frown lines. It is designed to get rid of the tired, sad, angry or unfriendly look and give you a more alert, refreshed and youthful looking upper face (above the eyes). While a brow-lift or forehead lift is effective in correcting a drooping brow line (eyebrow area) and reducing the horizontal lines and furrows (worry lines), its ameliorating effect on the crow’s feet wrinkles is, however, minimal. It also does NOT correct lax lower eyelids or loose eyelid skin or affect the position of the upper eyelids. The brow-lift procedure creates a refreshed, youthful appearance to the forehead area above the eyes. The brow lift cannot, however, stop the process of ageing.

Brow lift surgery is undertaken alone or in combination with a facelift, eyelid surgery or laser surgery to the face. Most often it is carried out in conjunction with a face lift and/ or eyelid surgery for a more harmonious facial rejuvenation

Professor Malata prefers to use the minimally invasive endoscopic technique because of the smaller incisions, reduced scarring and the quicker recovery (endoscopic brow lift). Alternatively the procedure can be carried out open with long ear-to-ear scalp incisions (coronal brow lift) depending on your specific needs. Sometimes the outside of the brow can be lifted through an incision in the temple (lateral temporal brow lift). Rarely a smaller type of brow lift can be undertaken through eyelid incisions (trans-blepharoplasty brow pexy).

To view the before and after photos in Professor Malata’s publications on brow lifts click below

• Experience with cortical tunnel fixation in endoscopic brow lift - The “Bevel & Slide” modification;

• Neck Lifts - Surgical Rejuvenation of the Ageing Neck;

As in any cosmetic surgery, there are risks as well as benefits and the final results are not guaranteed. The chance of complications following brow lift surgery depends on the exact type of operation needed and other factors such as your general health, drug intake, etc. Professor Malata will explain how the risks apply to you. Detailed postoperative instructions will be discussed during consultation and a procedure-specific handout given to you by Professor Malata.

Risks and complications of brow lift and forehead lifts

Some risks of brow and forehead lift:

Frequent

• Bruising and swelling – often marked.

• Numbness and tightness - common

• Motor nerve injury: forehead & eyebrow muscle weakness: temporary

• Sensory nerve injury: forehead, face, scalp & temple numbness or decreased skin sensation: < 3 months

• Itching sensations of scalp: very common but temporary

Infrequent

• Irregularities of skin contour: lumpiness, depressions, wrinkling

• Asymmetry between the two sides of the face: 5%

• Delayed healing: especially in smokers

• Local patches of hair loss: common – usually transient: 6 months

• Under-correction + occasional need for repeat surgery; relapse

• Over-correction; medial separation of eyebrows

• Visible marks from sutures, staples or hardware

Rare

• Bleeding and hematoma: uncommon

• Infection: rare

• Chronic itching sensations of scalp: irritating: rare with endoscopic

• Conversion of endoscopic (closed) technique to standard (open) procedure

• Forehead diathermy burns, eye problems (itching, soreness, temporary lagophthalmos)

Alternatives to brow lift

• No surgery at all

• Laser resurfacing of forehead

• Face lift surgery

• Botox injections: for glabellar wrinkles and forehead furrows

• Upper lid blepharoplasty: usually not the best choice