Surgical Cosmetic Treatments

BROWPLASTY or BROWLIFT: Surgery to improve the forehead and eyebrows

The eyebrows are the first part of the face to feel the effects of gravity. Their downward drift is often overlooked until it is noticed that the eyes appear smaller and make-up is harder to apply. Heavy eyebrows give one a sad or angry look, and can drift far enough down to interfere with one's peripheral vision. In addition, because the muscles of the forehead are in continual contraction to attempt to lift the eyebrows, this condition can contribute to the formation of forehead wrinkles and "tension headaches". The procedure to restore the eyebrows to their former position is known as the browlift. Although this is a part of most facelift surgery, it is also performed alone, or more commonly with surgery to remove excess skin from the eyelids. There are several options as to where to make the skin incisions, depending mainly on the position of the hairline. These will be discussed during the consultation. Overall, the browlift can lead to brighter, larger eyes and reduce the sad, angry look common to those with sagging eyebrows.

How is the procedure performed?

When performed alone or in association with eyelid surgery, "twilight anesthesia" is used. The patient may return home and is seen the following morning in the office. The incisions can be made in the hairline or directly above the eyebrow itself, depending on the position of the hairline.. If the incision is made in the hair, surgical clips will be used so that the hair does not have to be shaved. If the incision is made above the brow, they are covered with skin colored tape for the first two weeks. Like any incision, they are pink and slightly raised for the first several weeks, but should fade to a barely perceptible line with time. The eyebrows are usually slightly over corrected in the beginning to allow for skin recoil. This will result in a slightly "surprised" look.