You may visit your surgeon as many times as you wish to have all of your questions answered. At your final preoperative visit, which will take at least an hour, photographs will be taken, your final questions will be answered and you will confirm that you have understood the procedure to be performed, that this material has been explained to you, that you have read and understood these information sheets, and that you accept the risks by signing the informed consent forms. You will be given prescriptions for pain pills and antibiotics along with instructions for their use. Certain laboratory tests will also be required two weeks prior to surgery. If you are over the age of 50, you will have to obtain a cardiogram and we do not do those at our office. You may have blood drawn by our office nurse during your final preoperative visit, or, if you prefer, at your family doctor’s office or any state licensed laboratory (e.g. Kaiser Hospital, etc.) when you are getting your cardiogram. All patients will be asked to stop smoking at least a month prior to surgery in an effort to maximize your body’s ability to heal the incisions following the operation.

All patients anticipating an elective surgical procedure are to stop taking any medication containing anti-inflammatory agents (aspirin, Advil, Motrin, etc.) as these interfere with the body’s clotting mechanism and can result in dangerous blood loss and excessive bruising.

Patients should shampoo their hair the evening prior or on the morning of the day of surgery. Absolutely nothing may be taken by mouth after midnight prior to the day of surgery (except medications prescribed by your doctors, but please mention these to the anesthesiologist in advance).

Usually, your anesthesiologist will call you the night before surgery to discuss the anesthetic care plan with you. But if you miss the call or your anesthesiologist does not call you, do not worry as you will be able to discuss your anesthesia and have all your questions answered in the morning, at the Laguna Hills Surgery Center, prior to your procedure. It is absolutely imperative that you make arrangements in advance to have someone drive you to and from the Surgery Center on the day of your operation and that a responsible adult spend the first 24 hours with you at home after surgery. Any responsible adult may take care of you on this first night, but if you are combining your brow lift with a face lift, we will help you arrange for a registered nurse to assist you on the first night.

Please wear loose fitting clothing, which will be easy to get off and on after the operation. When you arrive for your operation, please give the receptionist the name and phone number of the person who will take you home and spend the first night with you. Wear no makeup to the office the day of surgery.

The brow lift is a cosmetic surgical procedure that is designed to replace the brow into a slightly more-elevated position and to soften the wrinkles of the forehead or between the brows by resculpting excess forehead and inter brow muscles.

Two basic surgical approaches can be used. Your surgeon will help you decide which method is most appropriate for you. Most patients opt for an endoscopic approach, which utilizes the latest technology and tiny incisions placed behind the hairline. This approach has the advantage of precise muscle sculpting while avoiding the long traditional scar. Due to the smaller incisions, this option is particularly suited to patients with receding or thinning hairlines. Because the operation is carried out through shorter incisions, the swelling is minimized and the recovery period may be lessened. The brow elevation is maintained by absorbable devices called Endotines®, which are designed to hold your brows in the desired position until the flesh again adheres to the underlying bone.

The traditional technique requires a long incision behind or at the hairline, extending from ear to ear. In all but exceptional cases, the endoscopic techniques have replaced this time-honored approach.

Occasionally, the patient and surgeon may decide that in order to obtain the desired optimal result, additional ancillary procedures such as eyelid surgery, a facelift, laser resurfacing, or a chin implant may be required. These additional procedures will be discussed separately as they are not an actual part of the forehead lift operation. If desired, fees for these additional procedures will also be reviewed by the office staff.

The brow lift procedure requires approximately an hour and a half. It will usually be performed under a deep sedative or a light general anesthetic. An anesthesiologist will be present to administer your medications and to assist in monitoring all patients to ensure their safety.

The key to minimizing bruising and expediting healing is to keep ice packs applied to the eye regions for the first 48 hours. The staff will instruct you in use of the ice packs. All patients will have some swelling of the forehead and some discoloration, particularly around the eyes and down the cheeks. The eyelids may swell shut for a few days. Any crusting that develops along the lash lines should be cleansed with Q-tips and peroxide. The discoloration will be most noticeable on the second and third days, and diminishes anywhere from one to six weeks after surgery. This, again, depends upon the type of skin, age, and healing ability of the patient. Most patients, with perhaps light makeup, can resume everyday tasks one or two weeks after surgery.

You may shower by the second or third day. It will not harm you to touch or wet the incisions and staples that you will be able to feel behind the hairline, but care must be taken not to rub the incisions vigorously, mainly to avoid injury to your fingers. All lifting, straining and other vigorous activity is to be avoided until bruises have faded. The best rule of thumb is to avoid any activities that cause you discomfort and to enjoy those that do not.

Most patients are pleasantly surprised to discover the relatively mild degree of post-operative discomfort. The patient is requested to call the office if the discomfort is not readily quelled by the pain pills, or if significant bleeding appears around the incisions. Staples will be removed five to ten days post-operatively.

To request a consent form, please contact us.

Every activity in life, whether driving automobiles or having surgery, is associated with risk. The following inherent risks must be understood and assumed by the patient if we are to proceed with this surgery. Although complications and bad results are extremely uncommon from this type of operation, they do sometimes occur. Your doctor cannot guarantee a favorable result from the operation you are considering, but every effort will be made to provide you with the best result possible.

Some of the possible complications from this operation include: the possibility of permanently noticeable scarring and hair loss, infection, bleeding, unequal discoloration and swelling of the forehead, abnormal contour, nerve damage causing temporary or permanent loss of feeling in the forehead and weakness of portions or all of the forehead, permanent changes in sensation, such as chronic itchiness, personality changes and mental difficulties following the operation which might occur even when the operation has been a success, and allergic or other bad reactions to one or more of the medications used during or after the operation. Some of the complications of this operation can cause the need for further touch-up surgery. Some of the complications can cause prolonged healing, hair loss, unsightly and painful scars, and permanent deformity and inconvenience. It must be stressed that it is not uncommon for one brow to sag more than the other and for asymmetry to be present after surgery.

Complications after aesthetic surgery, without question, are seen much more frequently in smokers, and you are urged not to smoke the month prior to surgery and for three weeks after the operation to minimize the likelihood of such complications. There are also other very rare potential complications from this operation in addition to the ones that have been mentioned, but it is not possible to advise you of every conceivable complication. Complications after any type of cosmetic surgery are relatively rare and most patients end up with a very satisfactory result. The purpose of this information is not to frighten you, but to insure that your decision to have this operation is not made in ignorance of the potential risks of cosmetic operations on the face.

The surgical scars are permanent; however, the incisions are placed so that they are barely discernable on normal visual observation, barring complications, which may include thick and/or painful scars. If this problem occurs, treatment by excision may be indicated, but it may be impossible to improve an unsightly scar.

Cosmetics may be applied over the skin of the forehead, eyes and cheeks immediately after the operation. The office aesthetician will not only be able to assist you with makeup application to hide bruising, but also to give you guidance regarding skin care after you have healed.

Coiffure procedures may usually be carried out after the drainage tubes have been removed and the wounds have stopped draining. Care must be employed when drying the hair during the first few months while you do not have normal sensation; the low heat setting should be used for the first two months to avoid inadvertent damage to the skin or hair.

The head must be kept dry initially. By the second or third day, the patient will be encouraged to begin showering and shampooing normally, but care must be taken not to tug on the drainage tubes or to rub the incisions hard.

Social activity should be limited for as long as you feel uncomfortable with the degree of swelling and bruising that you have. Light activities such as walking may be begun as soon after surgery as the patient desires. Strenuous exercises may be resumed when it is physically comfortable to do so, usually in a few weeks when all visible swelling and bruising have subsided.