Forehead Lift Procedure

Forehead Lift Surgery

A forehead lift, also known as a browlift, is a surgical procedure designed to minimize the visible signs of aging in the forehead area and improve drooping eyebrows. By raising the eyebrows, the eyes become much brighter and bigger. It has been said that the eyebrows frame the eyes and define your face. Eyebrow position can naturally be low or may move downwards with aging such that the upper eyelids look heavy.  People who can benefit from having their brows elevated can be as young as in their late twenties, up to and beyond their fifties.

The forehead lift, commonly called a brow lift, is a cosmetic surgery designed to reverse the signs of aging in the upper third portion of the face. Lines on the forehead can be minimized and the eyebrows can be raised to reveal larger, more vivid eyes. The eyebrows are an important part of the face due to their distinctive position above the eyes, and the frame they produce that set the tone for your eyes and forehead. In turn, a forehead lift may diminish crow=s feet with the upward pull of the skin. An ideal candidate is in good health and aged anywhere from their late twenties and further. The forehead lift is not just for those showing the signs of age; many people have naturally lower brows and wish to expose more of their upper eyelid.       
Forehead lifts are performed in Dr. Ellis office under a combination of sedation and local anesthesia, usually as an outpatient surgery. Another option is for the forehead lift to be performed under total intravenous anesthesia, and an anesthesiologist must be present to administer the medication as well as monitor it. 
A forehead lift is performed in one to two hours, depending on how complicated the specific case deems to be. The majority of forehead lifts are performed endoscopically, which is a minimally invasive procedure using a camera to view the area underneath the skin. This produces less scarring as only 4 incisions are made away from the hair line. 

Forehead lifts are not only for women, and there is a special procedure that balding men can elect to undergo. Dr. Ellis can perform the surgery utilizing the upper eyelids to make his incisions leaving behind no visible scars. After the eyebrows are raised to the desired position and the skin on the forehead is tightened, a sterile bandage secures and protects the forehead.

After Forehead Lift Surgery

After the forehead lift surgery, many patients reveal they have only a  minimal amount of discomfort. Prescribed medications can control the inflamation as well as the pain. The area may feel numb or tight, and often itchy as nerves repair themselves from the temporary damage caused by surgery. Itching is less common with the endoscopic procedure since the incisions are less significant.

It takes a full ten days for the skin to heal sufficiently enough for stitches to be removed, however it generally takes half the amount of time for a person to resume normal activities. Although able to return to work at this time, physical strain and labor must wait until two weeks after the patient has undergone the forehead lift surgery.

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Although this is a minor procedure, we want out patients to understand that all surgeries carry some potential risks. Complications that may arise from a forehead lift surgery are a reaction to the medication or anesthesia, infection, numbness and damage to the nerves, and a necessary correctional cosmetic surgery to accompany the first. Asymmetry can occur in any cosmetic procedure, and proves especially hard to correct in a forehead lift.
Dr. Ellis takes a careful approach as to not give his patients a Ashocked look@ with very high brows unless that is what they specifically ask for.