Brow Lift New Jersey | Princeton Plastic Surgeons

Brow Lift

The goal of brow lift or forehead lift is to rejuvenate the appearance of the area around the eyes making the person look more youthful and refreshed. The procedure addresses drooping eyebrows and the lines and wrinkles on a person’s forehead that make them appear angry, sad or tired. A brow lift can be performed by itself or more often, in conjunction with other procedures to help balance the appearance of the eyes with the rest of the face and achieve a natural result that doesn’t appear “worked on.”

If you want to improve the appearance of your forehead and eyes, you can have brow lift surgery with Dr. Adam Hamawy. Dr. Hamawy is a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. Although a brow lift will leave you looking more youthful, rested and may improve your self-esteem, it will not give you a completely different look. Before you decide to have a brow lift, think carefully about your expectations and make sure you discuss them with Dr. Hamawy.

What is a Brow Lift?

As people age, skin naturally loses its elasticity leading to the development of lines and wrinkles. This is particularly obvious on the face. Wrinkles across the forehead, below the hairline, and between the eyebrows (usually referred to as frown lines) can increase the appearance of age and also give someone a more stern, angry, or sad look.

A brow lift is a surgical cosmetic procedure that can remove excess skin from the forehead and adjust the underlying tissue to reduce or eliminate wrinkles and sagging folds. It can help restore a youthful look to the upper face, bring a more alert look to the eyes, and refresh one’s visage overall.

Is A Brow Lift Right For Me?

When you go into Dr. Hamawy’s clinic for a brow lift (also sometimes called a forehead lift), you’re in the hands of an extremely experienced and friendly physician who will do all he can to help you achieve the results you wish when it comes to cosmetic enhancements. Brow lifts are excellent options for patients wishing to look younger without undergoing particularly major surgery. If you are advancing in age and seeing increased wrinkles and lines throughout your forehead area, you may be a viable candidate for brow lift surgery.

Younger Appearance

By reducing the appearance of wrinkles and lines on the upper portion of the face, you can take years off your visage and stall continued signs of aging for years to come.

Rejuvenated Skin

Skin naturally loses elasticity and smoothness over time. A brow lift can restore this to the forehead in a quick manner, giving you a firm and healthy look to skin that had started to advance in age.

Improved Confidence

Knowing that you look younger and no longer have to be self-conscious of heavy lines and wrinkles, as well as not unintentionally giving people the impression that you’re angry or depressed, can help improve your self-esteem and let you be more confident when engaging others.

Combined Results

When you take a brow lift and have it performed alongside a full facelift or other cosmetic procedures, you can greatly enhance your overall appearance, such as having a double chin removed, reducing lines around the nose and mouth, or even as part of a whole body transformation.

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Procedure Details

There are several brow lift techniques to choose from, and Dr. Hamawy will recommend the technique that will achieve the best result for you based on your individual factors. Dr. Hamawy believes that brow lifts are individualized procedures and that no one technique is right for every patient. The incisions are discrete and hidden by the hairline. Through the incisions, Dr. Hamawy will remove parts of the muscles that cause the frown lines and wrinkling and lift your eyebrows to achieve a more pleasing appearance.

Dr. Hamawy will often use the endoscopic forehead lift technique when possible. This method is performed using an endoscope, which is a small lighted camera on a long thin tube and working through several tiny incisions in the scalp. This minimally-invasive technique leaves small incisions and has the advantage of a faster recovery and less downtime.

A brow lift can be performed on its own, or at the same time as another procedure such as eyelid surgery, or neck lift surgery.

Before surgery, you will be given medicine to lessen the anxiety and pain. You will meet your anesthetist before your procedure, and he or she will answer any questions you may have about your anesthesia. The surgery by itself usually takes 2 to 3 hours. After the procedure, you will wake up in a recovery area where you will be closely monitored.

Surgery may be performed as an outpatient procedure at a certified ambulatory surgery center, or at one of several affiliated hospitals. You will need someone to drive you home and stay to help you the first few days while at home.

Types of Brow Lifts

Open

In an open brow lift, the physician makes an incision from one temple, all across the hairline to the other temple. This incision is made behind the hairline so it isn’t visible and any healed scar will remain hidden as well. Tools are then inserted under the brow skin, and excess tissue and skin are removed before the incision is sealed.

Endoscopic

Rather than one big incision, in an endoscopic brow lift, the surgeon makes a number of smaller incisions which are used to manipulate the tissue for the intended results. This has lost some popularity over the years as it has been seen as less effective than other methods.

Limited or Later Incision

Rather than making incisions along the hairline, the surgeon makes incisions just on the temples (also hidden behind the hairline). This is far less invasive and can offer faster recovery times, while still allowing wrinkles and tissues to be removed.

Recovery After A Brow Lift

Some discomfort is normal after surgery but shouldn’t be severe. You may experience some headaches and initial scalp numbness. Swelling is normal, and this usually settles down around the eyes and cheeks before resolving in about a week. When you are discharged, you will be given prescriptions for pain and to reduce swelling. You will be up and walking the day of your surgery.

Some patients may experience a headache the day of the procedure. Mild swelling and bruising are to be expected for a few days. The initial numbness in the scalp and hairline is replaced by a slight burning or itching sensation before disappearing. Some hair around the incisions may temporarily appear thinner. Normal hair growth usually resumes within few weeks or months.

Following your brow lift, a patient’s forehead may be secured with surgical tape to help healing occur without stretching the skin or tugging painfully on the incision areas. It may also be wrapped in loose bandages for a short time. Depending on the extent of the incisions, you may need to deal with drainage and cleaning the incisions. Initial healing will take place over the first two weeks following the surgery, and you may need to have follow-up visits to assess your recovery progress.

After two weeks, most of your normal routine can be started up again, though you will need to be cautious of strenuous activity. You will likely see swelling and bruising and drainage around the incisions, but these should subside quickly. Complete healing should be over within several months. The results of the brow lift will depend on the technique employed and your brow’s initial appearance.

Techniques such as the endoscopic brow lift can last for five years or more, while open brow lifts often see results lasting up to ten years. Obviously, your face will continue to age, and nothing can stop the inevitable march of time and its effects on the visage. However, healthy living and abstaining from things such as heavy smoking or drinking will preserve the effects of a brow lift longer. Your follow-up visits will usually start a few days following your surgery for a checkup, and Dr. Hamawy will review activity limitations, incision care and concerns you may have. Following this visit, you will return in approximately one week, one month, three months, and one year. Be assured that your relationship with Dr. Hamawy does not end after your surgery. If you have any concerns during your recovery or have more questions at a later time, you can always contact Dr. Hamawy.

Other Procedure Options

It is entirely possible—in fact, it can be recommended—to combine a brow lift with other cosmetic work being done around the face. Full facelifts can keep the whole face looking uniformly rejuvenated rather than doing it one area at a time. There are also other methods that can achieve similar cosmetic results, though to varying degrees of effectiveness.

BOTOX

A neurotoxin that is injected into the tissue beneath the skin, Botox paralyzes the muscles, causing the skin to smooth out and reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles all around the face.

Dermal Fillers

These are synthetic substances that are injected into areas beneath the skin, and either causes the tissues to appear plumper and fuller or triggers collagen production, which restores skin elasticity and a healthier appearance.

Your Brow Lift Consultation

A forehead lift is usually performed in patients to minimize the appearance of aging. It is often performed together with a facelift to achieve a smoother appearance and eyelid surgery for people who have significant excess skin hanging over their upper eyelids. Some patients may believe that they need upper eyelid surgery and discover that a brow lift better suits their overall goals.

During your first visit, Dr. Hamawy will analyze the shape and location of your eyebrows in relation to your eyes, face, and hairline. After your consultation, photographs will be taken for your medical record and additional analysis.

Be prepared to discuss any medical conditions you may have, allergies, prior surgeries, and any medications, vitamins or other supplements that you currently take.

You will be asked about any conditions that may complicate the procedure such as uncontrolled hypertension or clotting problems. It is important for you to provide complete information. If you are a smoker, you will be asked to stop smoking at least three weeks before your surgery. Dr. Hamawy is concerned about your health and safety and depending on your medical status may ask for additional evaluations before proceeding with surgery.

You will learn about the procedure, its limitations, and risks, and Dr. Hamawy will discuss your needs and concerns. He will explain which surgical techniques are most appropriate for you based on your examination and factors such as the degree of facial aging, your hairline, and underlying facial structures.

Cost

After your initial consultation, you will be quoted a price that will include Dr. Hamawy’s fee as well as the operating room and any anesthesia fees. Financing options are available.

Quick Facts

Length: 1-2 hours
Anesthesia: Local with Sedation or General
In/Outpatient: Outpatient
Recovery: Return to work: 1 week – Light exercise: 4 weeks – Swelling completely resolves: 4-8 weeks