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Temporal or brow lift surgery

The temporal brow lift concerns the upper and lateral part of the face (the temporal region) and, more particularly, a sagging, heavy brow (brow ptosis). It helps fight tired eyes, sad looks and gives a spectacular glow to the face.

The procedure is known as a temporal lift, brow lift, upper third face lift, crow’s feet lift, eyebrow lift or mannequin lift. However, it should not be confused with the forehead lift (which has not been practiced much since the advent of Botox in aesthetics).

It can be performed alone or often in combination with another cosmetic surgery procedure on the face: a forehead lift, eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), cheek lift or lipofilling, upper lip lift, facial lift, neck lift, mini-lift, French lift, Botox injections etc.

The objective of the brow lift

  • correctly position the eyebrow, especially its outer part (the “tail”), which is generally too low. The eyebrow is thus raised upwards.
  • reduce excess skin on the upper eyelid due to the sagging of the eyebrow.
  • reduce wrinkles and fine lines on the crow’s feet (on the outer side of the eyelid).

Above all, the brow lift should not pull too much on the eyebrow otherwise you will get a fixed, frozen, artificial look with a permanently astonished expression; classic signs of cosmetic surgery.

Several surgical techniques are possible and all are used by Doctor Masson depending on the case.

  • The precapillary approach or where an incision is made at the junction of the hair and the skin of the temporal region. The scar usually measures 3 to 4 cm and is easily camouflaged by the hair. A crescent of skin is removed (often in a different way on one side compared to the other because there is almost always a slight asymmetry between the two eyebrows). The skin of the temporal region and, therefore, the lateral end of the eyebrow is lifted upwards. The procedure is almost always carried out under local anesthesia without hospitalization. The convalescence period is one week. It is indicated in moderate sagging of the brows.
  • The intracapillary technique, also known as the mannequin lift or mannequin clamp. The scar is hidden in the hair, 1 cm behind the hairline. It is therefore completely invisible. A triangle of skin is removed making it possible to tighten the skin of the temporal region and therefore to raise the eyebrows upwards. A slight receding of the hair line is then observed. A transient sensitivity disorder in the scalp and alopecia (also transient) can occur in rare cases. The operation is performed under local anesthesia without hospitalization. It is indicated in moderate cases of sagging brows. Convalescence is generally from 24 to 72 hours.
  • The intracapillary lifting technique with lateral suspension. Several technical variants exist but in all cases they are indicated in the more severe forms of sagging of the brows. The results last longer. General anesthesia is the rule, but sometimes a simple local anesthesia with sedation is possible. The principle is to make an incision in the hair, to peel all the skin from the temporal region to the tail of the eyebrow and to place a resorbable suspension suture at this location which will then be fixed higher on the fascia which covers the temporal muscle. Some techniques also combine an internal hinge flap system at the level of the temporal fascia to maintain the results once the suspension sutures have been absorbed. This technique, which was taught to me by Doctor Marc Divaris, is in my opinion the one which gives the best results over time. The convalescence period is one week on average.
  • The endoscopic temporal brow lift technique, which is identical in principle and afterwards, but the procedure is carried out using scars that are a little shorter and with an endoscopy camera and special instruments. This facelift is in fact often coupled with an endoscopic forehead lift which erases forehead wrinkles (horizontal by the action of the frontalis muscle and vertical called the lion’s wrinkle by the action of the corrugator “frowning” muscle).

lifting sourcils

The prices and fees for the brow lift depend on the technique chosen and used.

About

Dr Vincent Masson is a plastic surgeon with a post-graduate diploma in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery and a gold medal in surgery from the Paris Hospitals. He is a former senior registrar and attaché at the Hôpital Saint Louis.

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