Am I a Good Candidate for a Brow Lift and Upper Blepharoplasty Surgery?

asked 3 years ago by kris911 in Ottawa, ON
Latest answer by William Portuese, MD
Question viewed 1,500 times
Tags: droopy, hooding, Virtual consultation

I have just turned 35 and noticed that my eyes are starting to look old. My eyebrows have dropped slightly and my upper eyelids always look tired and little puffy no matter how much I sleep. I have also noticed that my eyes no longer look as open and have the nice almond shape they had when I was in my 20's. So I would like to know if a brow lift combined with a blepharoplasty would be the right procedures to fix the problems I just mentioned or would just a brow lift by it self be sufficient?

9 answers to Am I a Good Candidate for a Brow Lift and Upper Blepharoplasty Surgery?

Early for browlift

The level of the brows in the picture is indeed slightly low. Sometimes it is best at age 35 to just perform the upper blepharoplasty. A browlift can always be done later; however, it is important that the brows are not lifted too much, which would give a surprised look

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

I would not offer you surgery

Looking at your face (what you included of it) I can only assess you to be a youthful looking male. You have a sharp supratarsal fold with relatively normal positioning of your brow relative to your superior orbital rim. Your skin looks healthy in the picture. All of these are limited assessments but they point to you being probably better for minimally invasive procedures like Botox or injectible filler. Surgery in the periorbital area carries significant risk so the need for the... more

Manish H. Shah, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

I would remain conservative at this point

I would be hard pressed to recommend surgery on the picture that you have shown. While you do see a bit more puffiness and a tired look in the eyes, you may not be ready for surgery. One thing that you could consider is the use of Botox. Botox can sometimes give temporary brow elevation. This may give you an indication as to whether brow elevation is what you need or not. If it turns out that you don't like the change it will go away in a few months. Of course, these issues should... more

Phillip H. Nakano, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Seek out the options as well as the risks and benefits prior to making a decision

I would urge some caution in proceeding and recommend that you be aware of all the potential consequences. For example, although it is difficult to tell from this picture, a brow lift could potentially elevate your hairline and give you a high forehead appearance. There are options to minimize this side effect such as a pretrichal forehead lift (as opposed to an endoscopic forehead lift) bu the tradeoff is more scarring. Another alternative is a transblepahroplasty browpexy (or brow lift)... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

I would not recommend either procedure

If you walked into my practice I would not recommend either procedure to you. I might instead attempt to provide slight elevation of your eyebrows using carefully placed BOTOX in an attempt to do a "Pharmacologic Browlift". Otherwise sit back and enjoy your youth!

S. Randolph Waldman, MD
Lexington Facial Plastic Surgeon

Less is Sometimes More

I agree with the comments of the other doctors. Both procedures together are probably unnecessary. If anything, a conservative upper lid skin excision would help to re-establish the look you want to be seeing in the mirror.

Richard W. Westreich, MD
Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgeon

Endoscopic forehead lift alone

Dear Kris You probably do not need both a forehead lift and an eyelid surgery. It is likely that the forehead lift alone will be all that you need. Be certain that the surgeon you choose is comfortable with the endoscopic forehead lift. Don't get talked into an open forehead lift. Regarding BDD, ask yourself how many hours a day do you think about this issue. If the answer is that you think about it constantly, you may have BDD which is a type of obsessive thought disorder. You... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

I would not do surgery yet, but consider Botox for now

Based on your analysis of your photo and your age, I would not recommend surgery at this time. All of us age at different rates, but it is a bit unusual (but not impossible) for patients to need Blepharoplasty in their 30s. In my practice, it is much more common in the 40s. I have no doubt that you have seen some changes in aging (as we all do), but I still think it's premature for an upper lid blepharoplasty. When I look at your photo I see some mild brow descent and a loss of... more

James F. Boynton, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

Find a good surgeon and build a solid relationship with this surgeon.

Based on your picture alone, I would be careful recommending any surgery. You are certainly very young, and should not take this lightly. It is possible that conservative brow lift or possibly upper blepharoplasty will help you feel better about your eye appearance. I would find a surgeon that you can develop a good relationship with, since this is likely to be one of the many maintenance procedures you will have over the years. Did you like your nose surgeon? If you did, talk to him or... more