Forehead Lift
I want you to be as informed as possible before you choose to have surgery at the Bashioum Cosmetic Surgery Center, Ltd. Patients frequently ask the same questions about each surgery. I have compiled this list of questions from my 25 years of cosmetic surgery experience. I hope these help you understand how cosmetic surgery is beneficial and how it can make you feel better about yourself.
- What is forehead lift surgery?
- How much will it cost?
- What can I do about my sagging, aging forehead?
- Will I ever be exactly the same on both sides?
- Will there be scars after surgery?
- What are the risks of forehead lift surgery?
- Will I lose any hair?
- Will I look surprised?
- I have heard about so many bad things on television, is it safe to have forehead lift?
- What can you tell me about this new technique that I saw on television?
- Should I stop smoking?
- What other choices do I have?
- How are forehead lift and upper eyelid surgery related?
- Will this make my forehead higher?
- What additional procedures can I consider that will enhance the result?
- Am I a good candidate for a forehead lift?
- How many times can I have a forehead lift done?
- Do you need to shave my head?
- What kind of anesthesia will be used?
- How is a forehead lift done?
- How long will I be in the operating room ?
What is forehead lift surgery?
Forehead lift surgery (AKA brow lift, endoscopic forehead lift, or upper facelift) reduces forehead or brow sagging. Forehead skin and muscle are surgically removed, repositioned, and/or tightened to rejuvenate forehead appearance. People with prominent forehead wrinkles, hooding of the upper eyelids, and eyebrow sagging due to aging and sun damage turn to forehead lift surgery to give a more youthful, refreshed appearance.
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How much will it cost?
Please call my office for an accurate price quote or make an appointment for a personal consultation to discuss your specific concerns. My suggested quotes include professional fees, anesthesia fees, operating room costs, house calls, and before and after care. They do not include hospitalization costs, prescriptions, home nursing care, preoperative history and physical examination, laboratory costs, or pathology fees. If you compare prices, make sure that you consider all these costs. In addition, forehead lift surgery usually requires some time off work for a safe recovery.
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What can I do about my sagging, aging forehead?
Aging and sun damage change your forehead, resulting in sagging and wrinkling. Forehead lift surgery improves the forehead by removing extra skin while tightening and forehead muscles.
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Will I ever be exactly the same on both sides?
It is normal for your forehead to be different on each side. Surgery can reduce these differences but not eliminate them. It will be necessary for you to adjust to some asymmetry in your forehead after your surgery.
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Will there be scars after surgery?
Scars are part of all surgery. It is important to know where surgical scars will be placed. The traditional forehead lift scar extends from above one ear to above the opposite ear across the top of the head. It is either hidden in the hair or follows some portion of the hairline. Endoscopic forehead lift scars are multiple short scars in the hair-bearing scalp. They should be inconspicuous, as small as possible, and easily covered with clothing, hairstyles and/or makeup.
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What are the risks of forehead lift surgery?
There are risks with any surgery. Infection, excessive bleeding, abnormal scarring, poor healing, slow healing, skin loss, changes in skin sensation, and muscle or nerve injury, although uncommon, can occur. Fortunately, many problems that result from such complications are correctable with additional surgery. Temporary difficulty in raising one or both of your eyebrows usually occurs. It is possible, although rare, that this can be permanent. It is also possible to have difficulty closing your eyes, particularly if you have had upper eyelid surgery in the past. Finally, traditional forehead lift surgery will leave you with an area of scalp having less feeling at the top of your head. This may include some part of the forehead as well. You must understand your risk of complications completely before you choose to have cosmetic surgery.
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Will I lose any hair?
During forehead lift surgery, the scalp is lifted up. This procedure reduces the blood flow to the hair follicles and can result in hair loss due to interruption in the hair growth cycle. Permanent hair loss is rare.
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Will I look surprised?
Only a modest elevation of the eyebrows is necessary to correct sagging brows and hooding of the upper eyelids. The result should look natural and refreshed. A startled or surprised look after forehead lift surgery is usually a result of positioning the eyebrows too high.
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I have heard about so many bad things on television, is it safe to have forehead lift?
There are always risks to having cosmetic surgery. Serious problems are usually related to excessive surgery and/or undiagnosed medical conditions. I believe forehead lifts can be done safely with a high degree of patient satisfaction.
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What can you tell me about this new technique that I saw on television?
Everyone in the United States wants the latest in medical care. Unfortunately, this is not always the best medical care. At times, media presentations will leave out critical information about potential complications, quality of results, and FDA regulations. I am open-minded when it comes to new technology but I would rather not expose my patients to the newest techniques until they have been proven to be effective and safe. Recent advances in forehead lift include endoscopic forehead lift and eyebrow elevation through upper eyelid surgery incisions. These techniques reduce numbness of the scalp and have fewer and/or shorter scars. However, when compared to traditional techniques, I believe the results are inconsistent.
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Should I stop smoking?
For general health reasons, I recommend that all my patients stop smoking. It is clear that smoking increases your risk for developing all sorts of cancers. Breathing problems like emphysema and circulatory problems, including heart attacks, are also linked to smoking. Smoking can increase the risk of coughing after your surgery, which may lead to unwanted bleeding. Finally, the chemicals released from burning tobacco also reduce blood flow, which can result in skin loss during the healing period. Both of these problems can ruin the results of your forehead lift and lead to revision surgery. It is always best to stop smoking
What other choices do I have?
There are other choices when it comes to forehead lift. These include laser resurfacing, Restylane injections, Botox injections, fat graft injections, eyebrow elevation through upper eyelid incisions, direct excision of forehead wrinkles, acceptance of a deformity, and changes in makeup or hairstyle. Although I do not recommend it, scars can be placed in the mid-forehead or just above the eyebrows. Always understand all your options before having a forehead lift.
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How are forehead lift and upper eyelid surgery related?
A forehead lift will tighten the upper eyelid skin by elevating the eyebrows. When forehead lift is done after upper eyelid surgery, less skin is removed than when it is done before upper eyelid surgery. Care must be taken not to elevate the eyebrows too much after upper eyelid surgery because it can affect your ability to close your eyes. For this reason, I recommend that if you are considering both upper eyelid and forehead lift surgery, have the forehead lift first. Due to the risks of difficulty of closing the eyes and revision surgery, I do not recommend surgery on the upper eyelids and the forehead at the same time.
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Will this make my forehead higher?
If your forehead height is greater than one third of your total facial height, you should consider placing a portion of the forehead lift scar along the hairline. This will maintain the forehead at the same height or reduce it. Placing the scar entirely in the scalp always increases the height of the forehead. Hair restoration can be considered to either camouflage the hairline scar or reduce the forehead height.
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What additional procedures can I consider that will enhance the result?
Surgeries can be combined to yield dramatic and complimentary results. For safety reasons, I recommend the length of surgery be limited to six hours. Except for liposuction, I suggest no more than one area of the body be treated at the same time. Forehead lift is frequently combined with other facial rejuvenation surgery (lower eyelid surgery, facelift, and laser resurfacing), facial liposuction, facial implants, fat graft injections, and nose surgery.
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Am I a good candidate for a forehead lift?
This is a question that can only be answered after a consultation. Forehead lift is suggested to patients with sagging or drooping of the eyebrows, heaviness near the base of the nose, forehead wrinkles, and/or hooding of the upper eyelids. I feel strongly that forehead lift should not be done if high blood pressure (hypertension) is not well controlled, if you are smoking, or if there is severe dryness of the eyes. There are many things to consider, including psychiatric conditions, life stress, medical illness, obesity, and motivation. You should be a healthy nonsmoker within twenty pounds of your ideal weight, not going through major life stress (i.e. grieving a death, changing jobs, divorcing), and motivated by internal desires to look better.
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How many times can I have a forehead lift done?
When a forehead lift is done, extra skin is removed, stretching the remaining tissue and raising the eyebrows. In addition, redoing the surgery may raise the eyebrows too high giving an unnatural look. For these reasons, I recommend that a forehead lift only be done once or twice.
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Do you need to shave my head?
Only a narrow strip of hair needs to be clipped before surgery. Most of this scalp will be excised during the surgery. Once your hair is washed after surgery, any remaining clipped scalp can be easily covered with the adjacent hair.
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What kind of anesthesia will be used?
Most forehead lift surgery in my office is completed under general anesthesia. Patients are completely asleep during the surgery and remember little or nothing of the experience. It can also be completed under local anesthesia that is supplemented with intravenous sedation. You have the choice.
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How is a forehead lift done?
Forehead lift can be separated into four parts. First, a plan is outlined on your scalp and/or forehead. Second, the incision is placed in the scalp or along the hairline so that the subsequent scar will be inconspicuous and easily covered with makeup or hairstyle. The forehead skin and muscle are released from the forehead bone all the way to the upper eyelids and onto the nose. Next, muscle is treated to reduce wrinkling, and extra skin and scalp are removed. Finally, absorbable stitches are placed to close the incision in the skin.
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How long will I be in the operating room?
The length of time it takes to complete forehead lift is about two to three hours. You will spend about five to six hours in my office. Other surgery sometimes is combined with forehead lift, increasing the time to complete the operation(s). For safety reasons, I limit the maximum time for surgery on each patient to six hours on a given day.
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