Brow lift articles

The Brow lift is the new Eye lift. If you want to refresh the upper eyelids, the Brow lift is oftentimes a better alternative than the traditional upper eyelid surgery. Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained Plastic Surgeon explains why the browlift is a better alternative than the eyelift in his Brow lift video.

The Botox Detox procedure is the endoscopic Brow lift. The Brow lift not only permanently smooths the forehead wrinkles, but you get the added advantage that your upper eyelids become lifted to yield a longlasting, youthful, and refreshed appearance. The modern day brow lift or forehead lift is a two hour procedure done thru small incisions behind the hairline. An endoscope is used to lift the brow to a more youthful position. The procedure can be done under IV or twilight anesthesia in an outpatient surgical facility. Recovery is very quick- within one week you should be back at work. During the post operative week, you will have minor bruising which can be covered with makeup.

Many young women come to my office when they start noticing a little bit of ‘extra skin’ on their eyelids, or sagging upper eyelids. They have heard about Eye lifts (blepharoplasty), and how easily it can be performed- under local anesthesia. Naturally, they are very interested because the procedure is performed in the office and takes only 1-2 hours. However, the Upper eye lift is not an ideal procedure. I don’t think the results are as good as a brow lift. Furthermore, if too much skin is taken off, the eye lids will have a had time closing and the patient can suffer with dry eye syndrome. In fact, I usually prefer to perform a Brow Lift instead of an Eyelift in order to achieve a better result. The Brow Lift will elevate the brow to it’s youthful position, and in the process it will lift the upper eyelids. The result is a refreshed natural appearance.

For forehead wrinkles, a cosmetic dermatologist will tend to recommend “therapy”, or facial fillers such as Restylane, or BOTOX. All of these injectables have to be repeated over time, with the full knowledge that if therapy is stopped, the wrinkles will come back. The plastic surgeon, on the other hand, will think of a more permanent solution, such as lifting the muscles that cause those wrinkles in the first place. Thus he may recommend an endoscopic forehead lift.

A British study was quoted in the news with the following teaser, “Is Botox addictive”? Here’s the short answer: no, breathe easy, it’s OK. The actual data quoted is that “up to 40% of patients feel a compulsion to have additional treatments”. Well, of course!! What else can, at such a low relative price point, for such little inconvenience, wipe years off your face? So you have it once. Hmm, that was easy! You become used to your new face because in three days, those wrinkles are g-o-n-e. Life is great, nobody is telling you you look tired, and when you look in the mirror, that’s what you’re supposed to look like!

Most patients who come to my office don’t come in asking for a full facelift. Most come asking for a specific face procedure to “make them look younger”.   If they are relatively young, they focus on the nasolabial folds the lines that go from the side of the nose to the corners of the lips). Or they may mention the lips, how they are getting thinner. If they are somewhat older, they will focus on the jawline and neck. I listen to them, because that is what they are concerned about, but then I have to ask: Do you want to look better to yourself or to others?

Last weekend (10 days ago) I went to my medical school 25th year class reunion at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, Wisconsin. I had been so driven in my surgical residency, then marriage, then being on the faculty at Yale, that wonderful memories had been buried deep. This was the first time I set foot in Madison in over 25 years!

Today I got a very nice letter from a patient who had consulted with me about Eyelid surgery. I had recommended a Brow lift with a mid Facelift. She thanked me for a very thorough and knowledgeable consult, but decided to go ahead and get just her eyelids done by an ophthalmologist who does Plastic surgery.   This is an issue I encounter often, and I thought I would write my thoughts down in case anybody can benefit from this. First of all…