Ask a Plastic Surgeon: Do I Need a Brow Lift or Eyelid Surgery?
For nearly half a century, Atlanta Plastic Surgery, P.C. has been recognized throughout the medical community as the premier cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery center in the Southeast. Our board certified plastic surgeons, all recognized experts in the field, have published numerous books and papers on various plastic surgery topics and conducted lectures, presentations, and live surgical demonstrations around the world. In this ongoing blog feature, “Ask a Plastic Surgeon”, we will ask those physicians some of the questions that are most frequently asked by patients so that they can provide insight into the latest facial rejuvenation and body contouring plastic surgery procedures.
QUESTION: I am a woman in my mid-fifties, but no one would ever know it because I have been getting treatments with facial injectables, like Botox® and facial fillers, for several years. Although I have always been extremely happy with my results, I am becoming frustrated because those results always seem to fade after just a few months. I know that these non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedures were never intended to be permanent, but it seems that as I get older I need maintenance more often and the injections don’t seem to be working as well as they once did. This is particularly a problem in my forehead and brow region, which is why I am considering a surgical brow lift procedure or perhaps eyelid surgery. What would the plastic surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery advise?
ANSWER: It is a fact that skin and tissues do tend to become less elastic and resilient as we grow older, so it is quite common for techniques that may have been extremely effective on patients in their thirties, forties, or fifties, like injectable facial fillers, to have a much less noticeable effect on patients as they age. This is one of the reasons why we will often recommend that patients try to address the signs of facial aging gradually, first with subtle, minimally-invasive facial rejuvenation procedures, and then slowly expanding the menu of options to include more comprehensive facial plastic surgery techniques only when those techniques become necessary.
Although a thorough examination would be required in order to be certain, it does sound as though you might benefit from either eyelid surgery or a brow lift. While both procedures address the upper third of the face between top of the cheekbones and the hairline, they are designed to treat distinctly different issues. Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, specifically removes excess sagging skin from the upper and/or lower eyelids, alleviating the sagging that can give the eyes a tired, hooded appearance. Conversely, a brow lift can minimize the furrows between the eyes or on the forehead, lift the upper eyelids by getting rid of heavy, excess skin on the brow, and even raise the position of the eyebrows for a more youthful brow arch. Both techniques use very few incisions and require a relatively short post-surgical recovery, so determining which approach would be appropriate depends primarily on the individual patient’s facial structure and their personal areas of concern.
It is important to stress that every patient has unique health considerations and every face reacts differently to the aging process, so you would definitely need to come in for a personal plastic surgery consultation. During that meeting, you’ll have an opportunity to discuss your personal areas of concern, look over before and after pictures from previous patients, and in some cases even use advanced computer imaging technology to preview potential results so that we can formulate a treatment plan that is customized to your specific needs. If you would like to learn more about the options available, please contact Atlanta Plastic Surgery, P.C. so that we can schedule an appointment for a consultation. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for all the latest plastic surgery news.
