One Brow Not Moving 1 Month After Brow Lift

Weakness of the forehead or eyebrow is a rare but one of the most dreaded complications of brow lift surgery. This can be due to a temporary weakness in the form of a bruise or stretch on the nerve or less likely a permanent damage . While fortunately the former is the case in majority of the times, such recoveries can be painfully slow and it can take months for the muscles to return to full or near full strength. As such, keeping close communications with the surgeon and following the instructions is key for allowing the proper healing of the tissue to occur and avoiding any premature or potentially harmful revisions.

I suggest you follow your surgeon’s advice and give it a bit more time - maybe up to 6 months or so, during which time movement will gradually return. The muscle or nerve responsible for movement of your one brow may have been affected during surgery, however it usually corrects itself as you recover.

What you have described can be expected after a brow lift.  I recommend keeping in close contact with your surgeon or his/her clinical team to address your concerns.

Brow lift surgery can have a dramatic impact on facial aesthetics, but there is also the potential to have complications with this type of surgery. There are several different types of brow lift that can be used to address brow descent. One thing that they all have in common is the potential to damage the frontal branch of the facial nerve.
This nerve is responsible for elevating the eyebrow. During surgery, the nerve can be divided or damaged, and when this happens, eyebrow elevation is no longer possible. This may be a permanent problem. More commonly the nerve is stretched. When this occurs, the paralysis is transient and function usually returns with time.
You’re still early in the post-operative course, and there’s a good chance that this will improve with time. Be patient, your surgeon’s assessment is probably correct.

When doing a brow lift you get very close to a nerve branch of the Facial Nerve (frontal branch- the branch that raises the eyebrow)  that runs near the outside edge of the brow.  Unfortunately, there is a blood vessel that runs very close to the nerve branch.  When cauterizing the blood vessel, that nerve is at risk of both temporary or even permanent damage.  At one month you are still way to early to see nerve function return if the loss is temporary.  It usually takes 3-6 months to come back.  Permanent nerve injuries are relatively rare (I've never seen one in my practice knock-knock), so be patient and it will probably return.