Forehead Surgery and Brow Lift Surgery
Some droop or flattening of
the natural arch of the eyebrows occurs as an early sign of the aging
process. As a result, the eyes appear smaller, deep-set, and
sometimes with upper eyelid fullness. Horizontal lines develop in the “crow's feet” region of the temple
and in the forehead. Vertical “frown” lines appear between the eyebrows
perceived as stern, serious look. While correction of these
problems may be achieved on a temporary basis with Botox injections,
a forehead lift (brow lift) resolves these changes on a much more permanent
basis. A forehead lift may be done in isolation, but most commonly it is
performed in conjunction with an eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) and/or with a
facelift. It can may also be combined with a mid-face cheek lift. The goal is to gently raise the brows into a more
youthful, natural position while avoiding the "over-operated
appearance " . At Bel-Red Center for Aesthetic Surgery we not only
serve patients from Seattle, Bellevue, and the entire Puget Sound region
but patients also travel to see Dr. Zemplenyi from locations as far as
Oregon, California, Florida and New York.
Pre-operative Consultation
During your consultation Dr. Zemplenyi will address your forehead,
brow and upper eyelid cosmetic concerns and will advise you on the
various techniques available for their correction. We wish to
empower you to make an informed decision about those procedures best for
you and custom tailored to your individual needs. Dr. Zemplenyi is
trained to perform the brow lift using various incisions and in various
surgical forehead planes. You will understand the differences,
benefits and risks of various procedures such as the endoscopic brow
lift, mid-forehead lift, pre-trichial lift (in front of the hairline),
coronal lift and other variations. Currently, Dr. Zemplenyi tends to
favor a forehead lift performed through two separate left and right
incisions hidden in the hairline as this procedure, in his hands,
affords the most precise re-positioning of the eyebrows. Non-invasive treatments
with fillers and Botox may be indicated as an adjunctive
(complementary) procedure.
Surgery & Anesthesia
Our goal is to perform all surgeries without any patient recollection
of the procedure and with the least amount of discomfort, nausea or
other anesthetic side-effects. Patient's comfort and safety are paramount and
complete monitoring is performed for all patients undergoing any
anesthetic. Since all levels of anesthesia are available in our Medicare-certified surgical center
we are able to tailor the technique to patient's needs, desires and
wishes.
Forehead lift (brow lift) is most commonly performed under conscious sedation
anesthesia (twilight sleep) although general anesthesia may be used in
a few, selected patients, especially when combined
with some of other cosmetic procedures we offer.
Incisions are hidden behind or
very close to the hairline.
Dr. Zemplenyi sometimes uses the endoscopically-assisted technique for
elevation of the forehead tissues in the sub-periosteal plane (above the
bony scalp), but most commonly he performs the brow lift by freeing up
the skin and soft tissues above the forehead muscle, and by precisely
tailoring the margin of skin to be excised thus elevating the brows.
The forehead muscle is weakened in the central forehead region so that
the frown lines become less evident. Following a brow lift patients are discharged home
accompanied by a responsible adult usually within 30 to 45 minutes
following completion of the surgery.
After Your Surgery
Post-operative discomfort is quite easily controlled with prescribed
narcotic medications, and many patients do not feel the need to use these medications beyond the first 24
to 48 hours.
Application of ice compresses to the eyes and elevation of the head tend to decrease
on swelling and bruising. A compressive forehead dressing is
removed on the first day following the operation. Sutures in the
hairline region are removed in seven to ten days. While the amount of bruising is
minimized by our modern surgical techniques, the actual amount varies
and depends on individual circumstances. Most of the swelling and
bruising is seen around the eyelids and not on the forehead itself, and
it tends to resolve in seven to fourteen days. Cover-up make-up is
available through our esthetician services and can be applied soon after the
surgery, and many patients return to work in less than one week using sun
glasses to camouflage the post-operative changes. Final cosmetic result is not achieved
for about two to four months when the residual changes resolve.
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