Brow Lift / Forehead Lift

At my New Orleans, Louisiana practice, the brow lift, or forehead lift, is commonly performed along with a blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) however, in certain individuals it may be the only procedure required to rejuvenate the upper-third of the aging face. It is the ideal procedure to restore a softer more rested appearance. Several different types of approaches have been used over the years by facial plastic surgeons to address this area. An older technique called coronal forehead lift involves an incision in the scalp from ear to ear. This approach has several drawbacks including permanent numbness of the top of the scalp, scar formation in the scalp which causes a strip of nonhair bearing tissue as well as the tendency to raise the hairline from its original position. Thus, numerous techniques evolved, which in my opinion, are better suited to today’s patient.

The two techniques which I use include endoscopic forehead / brow lift and pretricheal forehead / brow lift. Of these two, far and away, the most common procedure I perform is the endoscopic brow lift. I was fortunate to be on the forefront in the development of this procedure and was the first in the New Orleans area to perform endoscopic brow lifting through minimal incisions. This procedure consists of several tiny incisions in the hairline and utilizes a telescope, or endoscope, along with instrumentation I developed to elevate, lift and reposition the eyebrows to a more natural level. In addition, this helps alleviate the deep horizontal creases across the forehead caused by contracture of the frontalis muscle trying to elevate sagging brows.

The second technique used, called a pretricheal approach involves an incision just inside the hairline across the forehead. This is used in patients who already have an overly high hairline and is useful in lowering this hairline while raising the brows bringing both to a more natural position.

In either technique, within a week of surgery all sutures and/or staples are removed and makeup may be applied.

The best candidates for a forehead / brow lift are patients with:

• a sagging or low positioned eyebrows creating a tired, sad, or angry appearance
• deep horizontal creases across the forehead
• frown lines or furrows between the eyebrows and the top of the nose

To achieve an overall facial makeover, you may wish to undergo other procedures as well. The most common of these include facelift surgery (“rhytidectomy”) and nose surgery (“rhinoplasty”).