endoscopic brow lift
As aging facial muscles and skin lose their tone, excess skin on the forehead follows the pull of gravity and crowds the eyebrows. Lacking the supple elasticity characteristic of youth, the heavy excess skin pushes the eyebrows lower over the eyelids, making the skin of the eyelids wrinkle, as well. Frowning causes additional lines that form between the eyebrows. With time, these frown lines can become quite noticeable, resulting in a perpetually angry or worried appearance. There is a natural tendency to use the forehead muscles to hold the eyebrows up so the brow and eyelid skin do not obscure vision, but this continual effort can cause deep furrows to form in the forehead. Dr. Mack performs the endoscopic brow lift to relieve patients of the deep furrows of skin in their foreheads, brows and eyelids. This surgery helps relieve the angry or worried appearance that results from frown lines that form between the eyebrows.
The primary advantage to selecting an endoscopic brow or forehead lift surgery is the ability to place smaller incisions in the scalp, behind the hairline, that are minimally invasive compared with larger incisions as used in coronal or direct brow lifts. The endoscopic procedure minimizes the complications sometimes associated with a coronal brow lift such as scarring, hair loss and numbness of the posterior scalp. This revolutionary surgical procedure is used to elevate the eyebrows, smooth the forehead and decrease the effect of muscle contraction on the area between the eyebrows. It can be combined with other facial plastic surgery operations such as eyelid surgery, facelift surgery, and laser skin resurfacing, depending on the patient’s desired results.
After the patient is comfortably anesthetized, several small incisions are made behind the hairline of the scalp, allowing an endoscope access to the area to be treated. Despite the size of the small incisions, the endoscope makes it possible to continually visualize the surgery. Using delicate instruments, Dr. Mack frees the skin of the forehead. When appropriate, muscles between the eyebrows can be reduced to further minimize the frown lines that form in this area. The hairline is not altered during endoscopic browlift surgery, so patients are assured of a natural appearance. In addition, the minimally invasive incisions result in less swelling and bruising during the healing process, resulting in faster healing.
What Is an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
An endoscopic brow lift is a procedure to elevate the eyebrows, smooth the forehead, and decrease the effect of muscle contraction on the area between the eyebrows. It can be combined with other facial plastic surgeries, such as eyelid surgery, facelift surgery, and laser skin resurfacing.
A number of patients undergo blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) to remove excess skin from the upper lids when they also have evidence of brow ptosis, which should be addressed with an endoscopic brow lift.
How Long Does an Endoscopic Brow Lift Usually Take to Perform?
An endoscopic brow lift is performed at an outpatient surgery center under twilight anesthesia. The procedure typically takes about an hour to perform. Often, an endoscopic brow lift is performed in combination with an upper eyelid blepharoplasty.
How Do You Perform an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
An endoscopic brow lift is performed using small incisions that are placed behind the hairline. It is a minimally invasive procedure compared with a coronal brow lift, which uses larger incisions.
The endoscopic brow lift minimizes the complications that can also be associated with a coronal brow lift, such as scarring, hair loss, and numbness of the posterior scalp.
Following the incisions, a dissection is made to release the tissues of the forehead and brow, in order to lift the brow to a higher position.
After the patient is comfortably anesthetized, several small incisions are made behind the hairline of the scalp, allowing an endoscope access to the area to be treated. Despite the size of these small incisions, the endoscope makes it possible to continually visualize the surgeon’s progress.
Using delicate instruments, the skin of the forehead is released, so that the eyebrows may be gently elevated. This results in a smoothing of the skin of the forehead.
The hairline is not altered during endoscopic brow lift surgery, so patients are assured of a natural appearance. In addition, the minimally invasive incisions result in less swelling and bruising during the healing process, resulting in faster healing.
Who Is a Good Candidate for an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
A good candidate would be a patient who presents with concerns regarding heaviness or droopiness of their brows, a patient who has deep furrows of the skin of their foreheads, or a patient with a worried appearance that results from the frown lines that form between the eyebrows.
Oftentimes, patients who present with evidence of brow ptosis also have underlying upper eyelid dermatochalasis, or excess skin. Endoscopic brow lift surgery is an appropriate choice for patients whose eyebrows overhang their eyelids, or who have deep skin furrows in the forehead.
It can even make a patient feel better about himself or herself, but it should not completely change the appearance of the individual. The goal of any cosmetic procedure should be to enhance the patient’s appearance with a more youthful look. Ideally, a patient’s friends and associates will notice a more rested, refreshed appearance.
What Are Realistic Expectations for a Patient Having an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
Realistic expectations would be to improve the appearance of the forehead by raising the brows to a natural position. This will help with some of the hooding that is noted laterally.
The key to a successful endoscopic brow lift is to make sure that the results look natural, and oftentimes, an upper eyelid blepharoplasty is performed at the same time.
What Are the Common Reasons Why a Patient Wants an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
Typically, patients will present with both cosmetic and functional reasons to undergo an endoscopic brow lift. The patients may note heaviness of their brows and upper eyelids that is interfering with their peripheral vision and daily activities. They may also have cosmetic concerns as the natural contour of the brow has diminished or lowered with age.
As the aging facial muscles and skin lose their tone, excess skin on the forehead follows the pull of gravity and crowds the eyebrows. Lacking the supple elasticity it had in youth, the heavy excess skin pushes the eyebrows lower over the eyelids, making the skin of the eyelids wrinkle as well.
Frowning causes additional lines to form between the eyebrows. With time, these frown lines can become quite noticeable, resulting in a perpetually angry or worried appearance. There is a natural tendency to use the forehead muscles to hold the eyebrows up, so that the brow and eyelid skin don’t obscure vision, but this continued effort can cause deep furrows to form in the forehead.
A number of patients undergo blepharoplasty, which is a surgery to remove excess skin from the eyelids. This procedure addresses the excess skin of the upper lids, but oftentimes, these patients have evidence of droopiness of their brows, which needs to be addressed with an endoscopic brow lift.
How Long Does It Take a Patient to Recover from an Endoscopic Brow Lift?
The patient is asked to apply ice packs for the first one to two days following surgery, and to avoid bending, lifting, and straining for the first week. Most of the recovery takes place in the one to two weeks following the procedure.
For more information on Tampa brow lifts, contact Dr. Mack’s office at 813-875-LIDS or schedule a consultation today.
For more information, visit our brow lift frequently asked questions page.
Be sure and visit our Before & After gallery for this procedure.