Forehead Lift

Many patients complain of having tired or heavy eyes. They frequently attribute this to the eyelids alone, when, in fact, the depressed brow plays a significant role. The brow is frequently overlooked by both patients and inexperienced surgeons when evaluating the upper one-third of the face. Sometimes, the drooping eyebrow is the sole contributor to a heavy upper lid. You can trust us to appropriately assess if both brow and eyelid surgery or a single procedure will give you the refreshed upper lid appearance you desire.

Am I a Good Candidate for this procedure?

Any one or combination of the following conditions may indicate that you are a good candidate for a forehead lift:

Sagging or low position of the eyebrows, creating a tired or sad appearance

Deep horizontal creases across the forehead

Frown lines, furrows, between the eyebrows and sometimes across the top of the nose

A forehead lift can improve all of these problems. It may often be performed at the same time as a facelift which removes excess skin and tightens muscles in the mid and lower face. If there is significant skin overhang in the upper eyelids, or puffy bags beneath your eyes, eyelid surgery may be recommended in addition to a forehead lift.

Considering a Forehead Lift

A forehead lift is often performed to treat conditions associated with aging. It may be done in conjunction with other rejuvenative surgery to achieve a more harmonious facial appearance. A forehead lift is also appropriate for treatment of certain inherited traits. Younger adults who have a low brow or who already have deep frown lines due to stress or over activity of muscles may benefit from the procedure.

Personal Consultation

During the initial consultation, your plastic surgeon may ask you to look in a mirror and point out exactly what you would like to see improved. Sometimes, patients may focus their attention on excess skin in the upper eyelids and not realize that sagging of their eyebrows contributes to this skin redundancy.

How Will My Plastic Surgeon Evaluate Me?

There are a variety of ways to elevate the brows and correct aging changes in the forehead area. Your plastic surgeon will closely examine your forehead and upper eyelid region, noting muscle activity when you assume various facial expressions. The particular surgical technique that your surgeon recommends will depend on many factors such as the position of your eyebrows, the amount of excess upper eyelid skin and height of your hairline.

Preparing for Surgery

Your plastic surgeon will give you specific instructions on how to prepare for surgery, including guidelines on eating and drinking, smoking, and taking or avoiding certain herbs, vitamins and medications. If you smoke it is especially important to stop prior to surgery; smoking inhibits blood flow to the skin and can interfere with the healing of your incision areas.

If your hair is very short, you might want to let it grow out before surgery, so that it is long enough to hide the scars while they heal.

The Results

The recovery time is typically 7-10 days with mild bruising and swelling expected in the upper face including the eyes. A brow lift can be performed as a stand-alone procedure, but is often done in combination with blepharoplasty and facelift.