What is an endoscopic brow lift?

The endoscopic brow lift is an operation performed to elevate the forehead skin and the eyebrows. This operation is designed to minimize skin incisions, to hide all scars in the hair bearing skin and to reduce post-surgical healing time.

How is endoscopic brow lift surgery done?

 

Endoscopic brow lift is typically performed under general anesthesia. Five small (three vertical scalp and two temporal) incisions are placed behind the hairline. Shaving of the incision sites in not necessary. The procedure is carried out with an endoscope. The skin is lifted from the underlying bone so the soft tissue connections between the eyebrows and the bone are loosened and the eyebrow can be be sufficiently elevated. The myotomies can be performed through the glabellar muscles to eliminate the frown lines. Once the desired amount of lift is accomplished, the forehead skin is secured in place with special sutures that anchor the forehead skin to the bone of the skull. After the surgery is finished, the incisions are closed with sutures and / or staples.

 

 

 

Do I need an upper blepharoplasty, a browlift, or both?

 

The ideal brow shape and position vary depending on gender, age, culture, ethnicity, orbital shape, eye prominence, facial proportions and current aesthetic trends. With aging, the eyebrow complex becomes ptotic, upper lid skin becomes redundant, which may obscure the supratarsal crease, and lead to temporal hooding. Patients chronically elevate their brows to reduce visual field obstruction from excess upper eyelid skin. The brow position should always be assessed before attempting blepharoplasty: the brow lifting procedure may obviate the need for blepharoplasty. Although brow-lifting can be performed as a single procedure, it is commonly combined with an upper eyelid blepharoplasty to restore younger-looking periorbital and forehead regions. If a forehead lift is indicated at the same time, the brow lift is performed first before an upper lid blepharoplasty, as the amount of upper lid redundancy is significantly reduced after correction of the brow position.

 

 

 

What can I expect after surgery?

 

There would be mild to moderate moderate swelling and the ecchymosis of the skin. Cold compresses are frequently applied for the first 48 hours to reduce swelling and ecchymosis. The degree of swelling and ecchymosis differs markedly from patient to patient. Either way the swelling and the ecchymosis both subside within 7-10 days, after which time it is typically hardly notable that you just underwent surgery.

 

 

 

Will I have a bandage or a drain after surgery?

 

There will be a bandage after surgery wrapped around the head to apply pressure over the forehead and to minimize the risk of a blood collection under the skin (hematoma). The bandage will be removed a day after the surgery. You will use an elastic bandage for the next few days. The drains placed behind the ear to prevent blood from collecting under the skin will be removed a day after the surgery as well. Removal of the both bandage and the drains are pain-free.

 

 

 

Will I need my sutures to be removed?

 

The sutures (or staples) are removed 7-8 days after the surgery.

 

 

 

Will I be in pain after the surgery?

 

The endoscopic brow lift is a minimally invasive procedure. Pain after surgery is typically very mild and well controlled with pain medications. You may need to take pain pills for few days after the surgery.

 

 

 

Will I have any visible scar?

 

Since all incision are placed in hair bearing area, there will be no any visible scar after endoscopic brow lift operation.

 

 

 

How long will I be off from work?

 

Generally speaking the recovery period after endoscopic brow lift is short and you may start doing your daily routines as soon as the first to third day. The swelling and ecchymosis persist rarely longer than 7-10 days and almost never limits patient mobility.

 

 

 

Can I wear make-up after surgery?

 

You can start wearing make-up 2-3 day after the surgery.

 

 

 

How long can I expect the outcome of surgery to last?

 

It is not possible to stop the effects of aging and after surgery this process continues. In time your face will age and the effects of surgery will decrease. The aging process is extremely variable among people so it is impossible to tell how long the effects of endoscopic brow lift will last, but it is generally expected that the results of surgery last approximately 10-15 years.