A forehead or brow lift is designed to sculpt the eyebrows into a more youthful appearance, thereby opening the eyes. Sagging or drooping of the eyebrows is one of the earliest signs of an aging face. The eyes begin to have a heavy appearance as the brows descend and add skin and tissue to the upper eyelids. This tends to give the eyes an angry, tired, or sad appearance. It also accentuates the crow's feet in the outer corners of the eyes and the frown lines in the central forehead. In some cases, the brow descent contributes to excess tissue in the upper eyelids, resulting in a diminished field of vision. This surgery (functional brow lift and blepharoplasty) may be covered by your insurance company.

Forehead lifting is often combined with other procedures to rejuvenate the face, such as blepharoplasty and facelift surgery.

INCISIONS: For most patients, an endoscopic brow lift is performed through small incisions behind the hairline and using small endoscopes. Small posts behind the hairline suspend the forehead. Other approaches may be used depending on your hairline.

ANESTHESIA: An endoscopic brow lift is generally performed in the operating room, under local anesthesia with sedation, or general anesthesia. Other types of brow lifting may be performed in the state-of-the-art office-based surgical suite under local anesthesia.

RECOVERY: Brow lifting is performed on an outpatient basis. You will be asked to use iced saline gauze on the eyes for 24 hours following surgery to minimize the mild bruising and swelling that can be expected temporarily after surgery. The amount of bruising and swelling varies from person to person, but is usually easily covered by make-up within a few days. You may resume light activity after a few days, with normal activity (including jogging and weight training) at about two weeks after surgery.