Forehead/Brow Lift - Surgical Techniques

What is a Classic Coronal Forehead/ Brow Lift?

Your plastic surgeon will make an incision, beginning at ear level and running across the top of your forehead and down the side of your head. The incisions will be made behind the hairline so that the scar won't be visible.

If a patient is bald, or has thinning hair, the cosmetic surgeon may make a mid-scalp incision. For those who have a high or receding hairline, the incision may be placed just at the hairline.

The surgeon will then lift the skin of the forehead, moving muscles and underlying tissues. The eyebrows may be lifted, and excess skin at the incision will be trimmed away. The incision will be closed through sutures or clips.

What Is an Endoscopic Forehead Lift?

Rather than making one long incision, your cosmetic surgeon makes three to five short scalp incisions, each less than one inch in length. He or she will then insert an endoscope, which is a thin, flexible tube through one of the incisions. It contains a light source and a camera that is connected to a television monitor. Another instrument is inserted through a different incision so the surgeon can then lift forehead skin, cut muscles that cause frown line, and cut other underlying tissues. Your eyebrows may also be lifted and sutured into that higher position.

Benefits of the Endoscopic Brow Lift include less scarring and numbness. Also, it doesn't raise the hairline as severely as the traditional procedure. Another benefit of this type of lift is that patients generally experience less itching than is true of the Classic Forehead Lift.

What Is a Trans-Palpebral Forehead Lift?

This Forehead Lift is made through an eyelid incision. It utilizes this incision to permanently disable the frown muscles, lift the eyebrows and to relax the forehead Frontalis muscles.

What Is a Direct Skin Excision Brow Lift?

This is a Brow Lift by excision of the skin above the brow. Direct brow lifting can produce a good result for patients who cannot have a classic Forehead or Endoscopic Brow Lift. However, the closer the incision is to the brow, the greater elevation. Therefore, this procedure is used with great care because it can create an unnatural, surprised look. Also, it is not favored for those who don’t want a visible scar and because it may create an unnatural brow hairline.

What is a Thread Lift?

Contour Thread Lift™ and Feather Lift™ are relatively new techniques where barbed sutures are used to pull up and re-suspend sagging eyebrows. The advantage of this technique is that, they can be inserted through small stab incision in the hairline, and therefore the procedure can be performed under local anesthesia. It efficacy and long term results is not yet fully documented.

What Kind Of Incisions Are Best For Me?

As mentioned above, incisions can be at the hairline, behind the hairline, above the brow, mid-forehead or through the eyelid. Your cosmetic surgeon will discuss the pros and cons of each with you in order to help you choose which Technique would suite you the best.

During your consultation Dr. Younai will review your treatment options for Forehead Lift or Brow Lift, including pros and cons of each procedure, potential risks and complications, recovery course, pre and post operative instructions, and esthetic outcomes. There are also many before-and-after pictures and high resolution images of Facial Plastic Surgery and Forehead Lift/ Brow Lift available in our photo gallery.

Dr. Younai is a board certified plastic surgeon who receives patients at the California Center for Plastic Surgery from the Northern as well as the Southern California region. Some of these cities include Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Pasadena, Glendale, Valencia, Palmdale, Fresno, and Oxnard.

Forehead Lift - Candidates
Surgical Techniques
Forehead Lift - Q & A
Risks & Complications

View Before & After
Forehead Lift Photos