Forehead Lift

Definition

A forehead lift, also known as a brow lift, is an operation which elevates the brows into a rejuvenated position.

Indications

The primary reason for the brow lift. is to raise the brows. Brow descent creates a tired and heavy appearance in the upper face/eye area. Raising a droopy brow restores an awake, alert and refreshed look.

Patients must be carefully evaluated for brow lifting. Aging in the face occurs at different rates in different individuals. Usually, the forehead, consisting of very tight skin, ages the slowest. Thus, when patients first present for a facelift, their brows have not aged to the same degree as their mid face, neck and eyes. Therefore, not every facelift patient needs a brow lift. A brow lift on the wrong patient, or an excessive brow lift. on an appropriate patient, can create a startled or chronically surprised look which is very undesirable. .

A patient's frontal hairline has to be carefully assessed. Most brow lifts, traditional or endoscopic, elevate the hairline. If the hairline is already relatively high, then a brow lift. may quickly create an unappealingly high hairline. If a patient really needs brow elevation and has a high hairline, this undesirable problem can be avoided but at the price of creating a potentially noticeable scar in front of the hairline, a tradeoff worthy of reflection before surgery.

Brow elevation in males with receding hairlines is a another difficult problem since concealing the scar becomes a significant issue. These patients can be improved through a browpexy (see elsewhere on this site) or hiding the scar within a deep, horizontal forehead line or just above the brow hair.

Another reason for brow lifting is the surgical inactivation of the forehead and frown muscles which cause undesired forehead and frown lines. This is only a secondary indication, however, because these lines can be improved with non-surgical modalities, such as Botox injections, collagen or skin resurfacing (see elsewhere on this web site under 'Non-Surgical Procedures).

For information from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPRS), click here.