content frame forehead lift

This is the Forehead Lift or Brow Lift page. The technical name is Forehead Rhytidectomy.

The General Purpose of This Operation The basic goal of a forehead lift is to improve the appearance of the forehead by lifting and arching the eyebrows, decreasing the horizontal forehead wrinkles and decreasing or eliminating the frown lines in between the eyebrows at the root of the nose. As discussed on the Eyelid Surgery page, the aesthetics of the eyelids depend in some part on the anatomy of the forehead which determines the eyebrow position. So a forehead lift can do a great deal to improve the look of the eyes even without eyelid surgery. However, often we will do upper eyelid surgery in conjunction with a forehead lift.

Since a standard forehead lift allows access to the muscles that cause eye brow frowning and horizontal forehead wrinkling, manipulating these muscles can cause almost permanent reduction in these active dynamic wrinkles. In the past few years we have been fortunate to have BOTOX^® to correct these wrinkles on a temporary basis, but a permanent answer requires surgery. Click here to go directly to the BOTOX^® page.

I do not do the endoscopic approach to forehead lifts for a number of reasons. First, it my opinion that the various fixation techniques that are described are still not as good in the long term as removing a segment of scalp to re-position the brow and fix it in position. Second, direct exposure of the frowning muscles allows for more controlled removal of them and the standard open approach allows me to manipulate the muscle that causes horizontal forehead wrinkles and this is not possible in the endoscopic approach. Third, although a long scalp incision sounds scary, it actually heals remarkably well with no complications. Scalp numbness does occur, but it resolves in approximately 6 months and in my experience has never caused any long term problems.

Before Forehead Lift	After Forehead Lift

Observe The Improvement In The Horizontal Forehead Wrinkles. This Is Achieved By Manipulating The Forehead Muscles.

Insurance Coverage This is almost never an insurance covered procedure, it is considered cosmetic surgery. There is a very rare situation where this procedure may be combined with an insurance covered upper lid blepharoplasty to alleviate visual field obstruction. This is discussed in more depth on the Eyelid Surgery page.

Before Forehead Lift	After Forehead Lift

This Patient Demonstrates Improvement In The Arch Of The Eyebrows And The Decrease In The Frown Wrinkle Between The Eyebrows.

The Operation The forehead lift operation is done as an out patient or day surgery procedure at Decatur General Hospital using general anesthesia. It is done in the main operating rooms at Decatur General Hospital and takes about 2 hours to perform; longer if we are doing eyelid surgery also. We do the operation in the morning and you will get discharged to home late in the afternoon. You will have one drainage tube in place and the nurses will teach you how to care for this tube before you go home.

You will be discharged to home with prescriptions for narcotic pain pills, antibiotics and nausea medicine.

It is crucial that for 10 days prior to your surgery you do not take any aspirin, arthritis or other muscle ache pain medicines. These medicines will make you bruise more and can lead to other complications. The ONLY pain or headache medicine that is safe to take is Tylenol (acetaminophen) because this does not affect blood clotting and bleeding.

Postoperative Discomfort All patients are unique and the response to post-operative discomfort is variable. Most patients state that forehead lift surgery is not that uncomfortable. Patients say that the incision on the top of the head has only mild soreness. Most patients take the narcotic medicine only for a few days and then switch to Tylenol for pain. As I said, patients are all unique and their pain tolerance is very different.

I will remove skin sutures and/or skin staples in the office 7 to 9 days after the surgery. Removing the sutures and staples pinches but is not that uncomfortable.

Time Off From Work A forehead lift causes minor swelling and bruising in the forehead and the upper eyelids. I tell patients to plan for 1 week off from work, possibly a few days longer if the eyelids were done at the same time. By the end of a week you will be acceptable to go in public with make up on although there still can be some residual effects of the operation visible. For a job that requires physical exertion or heavy lifting you should expect to be away from work for 2 weeks. Your appearance should be back to perfectly normal by 2 to 3 weeks.

Postoperative Visits To The Office You will need to come to the office the day after your surgery so I can remove your drain tube. Arrange for someone to drive you to this appointment because you will be on narcotic medications and your forehead and eyes will be swollen so you will be unable to drive safely. You can shower and wash your hair 24 hours after your drain has been removed.

Your next appointment will be in 7 or 8 days so that I can remove your sutures and/or staples. I will see you again in about 1 week and then again in about 1 month.

Then I will see you at approximately 6 months and 12 months after your surgery and do a final assessment of your result, assess the quality of your scars and get your final opinion on the surgery.

Resuming Normal Activities As discussed in the above sections, you can shower daily beginning 24 hours after your drain is removed. You cannot do any strenuous work or heavy lifting for at least 2 weeks after the surgery. By 2 to 3 weeks you should be back to normal.

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