Browlifts
Drooping eyebrows are often one of the first signs of aging. If you have deep furrows on your forehead, frown lines over your eyes, drooping eyebrows, or hood-like skin over the your eyes these can make you look tired and look and feel older. A brow lift moves eyebrows back where they belong – at or above the brow bone.
The surgery will make your eyes appear more open and give you a more youthful, rested and alert appearance. It will also help to lessen the deeper crow’s feet, although not completely eliminate them. It is often combined with a facelift and/or blepharoplasty surgery (eyelid reduction surgery).
Our goal is to subtly elevate the brow without giving the appearance of an “operated” look.
Am I a Suitable Candidate for a Browlift?
Not everyone is suitable for a brow lift. Whether or not you are a suitable candidate is for our surgeon Mr Rahdon and you to discuss. We undertake a complete analysis of your medical history as well as a thorough clinical consultation. You typically need to be in a healthy weight range and in good health to be considered for surgery. If you are suitable, we will discuss the particular type of browlift that best addresses your facial concerns during your consultation Mr Rahdon.
You must not be smoking to be a candidate for browlift surgery.
Brow Lift Surgery
There are many different ways of performing a browlift operation including Endoscopic, Indirect Open and Open approaches. The development of modern surgical techniques has seen the introduction of high tech endoscopic “key hole” procedures, with the Endoscopic Browlift being the most common endoscopic cosmetic procedure performed around the world today. With the endoscopic approach numerous small incisions are made on the scalp and the muscles are removed (partially by forceps) when being viewed by the endoscope. This technique is effective for patients who require smaller elevations of the brow, for example approximately 5mm, and have very few vertical or horizontal forehead lines. The benefits of this approach is that the scars are small, can often be well hidden and bruising and swelling may be reduced.
The Open approach typically extends the face-lift incisions to connect over the scalp. The surgery involves cutting away an ellipse of skin and muscle just above the eyebrow and stitching the wound closed with dissolving stitches. While it can be very effective at elevating the eyebrow, it leaves a short but visible scar and does not address the forehead frown lines. With an Indirect Open Brow Lift you will be cut from the top of one ear across the scalp to the top of the other ear (behind the hairline) or a there will be long incision at the junction of the hairline with your forehead. The skin and muscles of your forehead are tightened, the muscles causing the deep frown lines are decreased and a rim of skin is removed from the edge of the incision. This results in your eyebrows being elevated. The wound is then stitched with dissolving stitches and dressed with a bandage.
Typically the operation takes 1 to 2 hours to complete. It is either performed as day surgery or may require one night’s stay in hospital.
A browlift is not a particularly painful procedure. On discharge from hospital, any discomfort can usually be managed with simple painkillers such as paracetamol.
What is the Recovery Time following Surgery?
Swelling and bruising may last for several weeks following surgery. You can usually return to completely normal activities after 4 weeks. The scars will undergo a natural maturation process involving a series of colour and texture changes over a period usually varying from 6 months to 2 years.
The final result can generally be determined approximately 3 months after the surgery.
What are the Potential Risks and Complications?
Major complications are uncommon following a brow lift, however, any operation carries with it the risk of complications which in this case can include numbness, itching, hair loss and damage to the frontal branch of facial nerve. During your initial consultation Mr Rahdon will cover with you in detail the risks and complications associated with the surgery. Should you choose to proceed with surgery, we will again explain any risks as part of the consenting process.
We ensure that risks are kept to a complete minimum with the help of selecting suitable patients as well as the selection of the appropriate procedure for your specific requirements. You should also understand that our highly qualified and experienced surgeon, Mr Rahdon, will not perform any cosmetic procedure unless he believes that the benefits significantly outweigh the risks for you.
To further discuss brow lift surgery and costs, please give us a call on (03) 5215 1070 or book an appointment online with Dr Rahdon to discuss any questions you have.
