Brow Lift Surgery: Procedure for Youthful Upper Face

Brow lift surgery is a cosmetic procedure that helps to reduce the visible signs of ageing on your upper face. It involves removing excess skin to tighten the loose muscle and skin tissue in the upper face region. With a brow lift, it is possible to lift the brow both laterally and frontally.

This article gives an idea about the details of the brow lift procedure and what you can expect before, during, and after the procedure.

Eyebrows and forehead are amongst the first places where you may start showing signs of ageing. As we age, our skin relaxes, and wrinkles start appearing on the forehead, giving us a serious, tired, angry look. To reduce these visible signs of ageing, your plastic surgeon may recommend brow lift surgery.  Brow lift surgery is also used if you have:

1. Deep rhytids (deep or coarse wrinkles)
2. Brow ptosis (a descent of eyebrows from their normal position, resulting in a cosmetically displeasing look)

The recovery process in the hospital

• After undergoing brow lift surgery, you will be discharged on the same day as the surgery is carried out on an outpatient basis.
• You will need your family member or friend to take you home after discharge ad stay for the first night after surgery.

Recovery at home

• Your operating surgeon will ask you to use a cold compress for two days post-surgery to reduce swelling and bruising. You should use the cold compress while you are rested, and your head is elevated.
• You might have a dressing at your surgical site, which can come off within 24-48 hours after surgery.

Work, Activity, Restrictions

• You will fully recover within two to three weeks and can return to your daily activities after that.
• You will need to avoid physical activities as much as possible.

Result expectations

You will see the effects of brow lift surgery only after a few weeks when the swelling and bruising reduce. These effects of the brow lift procedure might last for a lifetime; however, it will not affect your ageing process. Also, you might need repeat surgery.

First Follow up Appointment

You will have an appointment after a week you have undergone surgery. During this follow-up, your surgeon will 

• Remove the sutures from your surgical site.
• Monitor your healing process.

Some problems you might face because of the brow lift surgery include:

1. A small amount of hair loss around the surgical site
2. Numbness or itching in the hair, forehead, or at the site of surgery. This is a temporary effect.
3. Swelling and bruising on your forehead, cheek, and eye
4. Eye dryness or irritation

Rarely, brow lift surgery can cause risks like:

1. Persisting pain
2. Injury to the nerve cells that raises our eyebrows
3. Bleeding below the forehead skin
4. Swelling for an extended time
5. Asymmetry in your face
6. Injury in your facial nerve causing weakness
7. Accumulation of fluid at the surgical site
8. Poor healing of the surgical wound
9. Development of blood clots which can cause trouble breathing or chest pain
10. Unacceptable scarring
11. You should immediately contact your operating surgeon if you feel anything unusual after the surgery.