Slight changes in the height of your eyebrows can have major effects on your apparent age and remarkable affect how your eyes appear. Many women pluck or wax their eyebrows in order to change the height of their brow. A high arched eyebrow is a sign of youth and can highlight your eyes and draw attention to them. A droopy eyebrow can hood your eyelids, draw attention away from your eyes, and is more typical of the male brow.

In men, the natural position of the eyebrow is slightly lower than women. This causes less leeway before droopy eyebrows affect the upper eyelids and not only draw attention away from the eyes, but may interfere with your peripheral vision. Droopy eyebrows in men often are a function, as well as a cosmetic problem. There are, however, increasingly more men interested in facial plastic surgery today. Care is taken not to elevate the eyebrows too much since too high an eyebrow can be feminizing.

The forehead and eyebrows make up the upper one-third of the face. A standard face and neck lift is really a lift of the lower two-thirds of the face and neck. A forehead lift is a facelift of the upper one-third of the face. It may be combined with a standard face and neck lift or an eyelid lift.

A forehead lift is recommended for people whose eyebrows have fallen with time and whose forehead has deep wrinkles. It is a permanent way to improve the deep horizontal and vertical grooves on the forehead that develop after years of facial expression.

THE SURGERY

The standard forehead lift, recommended for severe age-related forehead and eyebrow problems, is performed through an incision in the hairline of the forehead. The operation takes about two hours, and may be formed with you awake with intravenous sedation or completely asleep under general anesthesia. At the end of the surgery, small sutures and surgical staples are placed to close the incision. These are removed in seven to ten days. A small plastic drain is used to remove any accumulated blood overnight, and is removed the next day in the office. You are able to go home the same day as surgery.

If your eyebrow or forehead problem is not too severe, then perhaps you would be a good candidate for endoscopic surgery of the forehead. Through five or six small incisions in the scalp, the deep grooves can be improved and the eyebrows raised. Dr. Shah will be happy to discuss this procedure in detail during your initial consultation.

THE RECOVERY

You will be able to return to work in ten days and will be able to resume your routine activities and exercise at three weeks. There is very little swelling or bruising, but you will notice some numbness in the forehead and scalp for several months. Most of our patients do not find this a major concern. Your improved look will be subtle to everyone but you. Many people say how well rested you look, or ask if you’ve changed your hairstyle. This procedure alone can make you look anywhere from five to ten years younger.

OTHER OPTIONS

If your forehead grooves are not too deep, or you wish to discuss non-surgical improvements, then perhaps Botox (Botulinum Toxin) injections or chemical peels might be for you. These are further discussed under (Non-Surgical Procedures).

Visit our plastic / cosmetic surgery offices located in Oak Lawn and Orland Park, Illinois (IL). We are conveniently near the Chicago area.