The eyes are often the first area one considers for plastic surgery. Excess skin and fat develops around the eyes. The brow naturally falls and droops with age, especially the sides of the brow. This sagging and extra tissue of the upper eyelid area crowds the upper eyes. A significantly droopy brow may even decrease visual field in severe cases.
While nonsurgical treatments with relaxers and fillers continue to expand in our cosmetic surgery office, these liquid lift options have not replaced surgery. Significantly excess skin and descended tissue still needs to be lifted and reduced by a surgeon.
Relaxing the Brow
Relaxers are treatments that relax facial muscles. Relaxers, such as Botox®, Dysport®, Xeomin®, and Jeuveau® are the most popular treatment in plastic surgery offices. Once muscle is relaxed, the overlying skin relaxes and appears smoother.
Relaxers treat both the horizontal and vertical lines around the brow. These wrinkle relaxers don’t work immediately. Results usually takes a few days to kick in, and then last a few months. Patients come about four times a year to the plastic surgeon’s office for relaxers.
Nonsurgical Brow Lift
All patients are not candidates for forehead lift surgery. Wrinkle relaxers, such as Botox®, Dysport®, Jeuveau®, may be used as a temporary alternative to lift the brow with surgery. Nonsurgical brow lift is not a replacement for brow lift surgery. In addition, results with a nonsurgical brow lift generally tend to be more subtle as compared to surgery, but recovery is obviously much easier than surgery.
Facial muscles around the brow pull in various directions. Relaxers target the facial muscles to soften their action. Understanding facial anatomy, a facial plastic surgeon may be then lift or arch the brow by selectively treating certain muscles in specific ways to maximize the intrinsic lifting up while minimizing the pulling down of the brow from this muscle activity.
The patient below demonstrate before and after results with a nonsurgical brow lift to help smooth wrinkles and lift the brow. She was absolutely thrilled with her results by Dr. Chaboki’s Botox injections.
Before and after nonsurgical brow lift with relaxer injections by Dr. Chaboki. The upper eyes are less crowded without upper eyelid surgery or a brow lift. The skin is smoother too.
Lifting the Brow
A limited incision or endoscopic brow lift is the modern technique many plastic surgeons use to the lift the brow. Other specific brow lift techniques, such as the traditional, direct, and mid-forehead lifts, are performed less frequently.
The limited incision brow lift is a preferred technique by facial plastic surgeons. – Houtan Chaboki, MD
Plastic surgeons generally consider a cosmetic brow lift as a relatively minor procedure. Small incisions are hidden within the hair, which is often not shaved during surgery. Benefits of the limited incision brow lift include shorter operative time, smaller incisions, much less scalp itching, lower risk of hair loss, and faster recovery.
Brow lift surgery may be combined with other procedures, such as eyelid surgery, facelift, and neck lift. Dr. Chaboki tailors plastic surgery to the specific needs of each patient.
Before and after limited incision brow lift and upper eyelid surgery. Before photograph demonstrates significant tissue laxity, skin excess, and droopy eyebrow. Plastic surgery was a more appropriate option to rejuvenate the eyes. After photographs is a few weeks from surgery.
Have you considered relaxing and/or lifting the brow? Contact the office to see if you’re a candidate for a procedure.
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