Will Open Brow Lift Scar Heal Nicely?

Obviously one of the main concerns with any open procedure is the risk of how well the incisional scar heals. Brow lift is no exception either. That’s why the choice of the type of the lift amongst the variety of the options available is extremely important. Nonetheless, when properly selected, some of the open lifts provide the more robust and long lasting results with none to minimally noticeable scars. Even in other cases of more prominent scars, when hidden under the hair bearing scalp the pros/cons can still be weighted against the alternative techniques. As such, brow lift is one of the cosmetic surgeries with the most variety of options available and that speaks to the complexity of the patient and technique selection. The aesthetic sense of the surgeon and familiarity with execution and the risk/benefit profile of different techniques plays a huge role in achieving the overall best outcome.

The incisions for this surgery if they are execute with precision heal to almost invisible.   The surgeons needs to  be experience and discuss with the patients possibilities and results of previous patients.

Brow lift scars can heal very nicely when performed in a trichophytic fashion along the frontal hairline. Patients need to be counseled ahead of time that this scar will be visible initially and takes time to heal and fade. Even once the incision is well-healed (usually within 10-14 days), the incision will be pink and may take many months to fade. Yes, the incision can be camouflaged with certain hairstyles and/or makeup, but patients need to be aware of this issue pre-operatively.
That being said, a trichophytic brow lift technique can be an excellent choice for the right patient.
All the best,

It’s not unusual for patients who
have used Botox for prolonged periods of time to eventually require a
browlift.  Although botox has a
profound impact on the upper facial muscles, the effects of gravity are unrelenting
and eventually result in drooping brows.

When this occurs a browlift is
usually necessary to correct the problem. In patients with high foreheads, an
open approach with a hairline incision may be necessary to avoid further
elevation of the hairline.

In the majority of patients who
undergo this type of browlift wound healing is excellent and scarring is
minimal.  Blond light skinned
patients tend to heal with minimal scarring.

Despite this, wound healing is
variable and rarely patients can have noticeable scarring with this
approach.  Under these
circumstances bangs are probably the best way to hide this type of scarring.

It’s important to discuss these
issues with your plastic surgeon. 
Your surgeon should be able to answer your questions and make this a
more comfortable experience.

Be very careful when asking for a brow lift, you might get it.  If you look up brow lift results in published papers and before and afters you will see that many surgeons successfully lift the brow.  Unfortunately a true brow lift makes patients look scared or surprised!  It is almost never necessary to elevate the medial third of the brow.  Many women actually benefit aesthetically from a slight lowering of the medial third.  On the contrary, there are few women even at your age that would not benefit from elevation of their lateral brow.  The reason for this is probably not what you think.  Much more important than the brow positionand shape is the infra brow skin.  If you look at yourself in the mirror you will see some bunching of skin under the brow next to your eye and a flat shape.  I call this the lateral hood.  The only kind of brow lift that I typically perform  I call a lateral hood lift.  If you gently pull up on your forehead skin above the lateral brow, you will see that a very subtle elevation makes you look younger.  This is mostly because it cleans up the lateral hood.  It is usually necessary to also restore brow volume at the same time as a lateral hood lift to create a beautiful rejuvenated shape.  I hope this helps!

All the best,

Rian A. Maercks M.D.