Temporal Brow Lift

Got the staples removed yesterday. What a relief! Did not hurt, as I feared it would. Doc was shocked at how bruised I still am, which you can see in the photo. Told me to use heart compresses 3x per day. The bruising is still too dark and extensive to be covered by regular make up. Swelling is almost completely gone. I don’t feel any tightness unless I squeeze my eyes shut tightly.

I feel mostly better. Still have some numbness in my scalp and temples, moderate swelling at the temples and forehead, a slight tightness and pulling sensation. Bruising has improved but is still not coverable with make up. The bruise area is shrinking but I still have two large dark purple crescents under both eyes.

I will probably like the results, but I still have two black eyes and a good amount of swelling, so it's too soon to say.  I am writing this because: 1) the recovery time for me was a lot more extensive than I expected, 2) i had a lot of trouble finding info on this as a standalone procedure. I am in my mid-40s, had a temporal brow lift as a standalone procedure.  It was done under local anesthesia + IV sedation in the doctor's office with an anesthesiologist present.  It cost $7500, but it's DC and everything here is expensive.  Surgery was done on Wednesday June 16, the staples will come out Monday June 28 (ended up with 7 staples on the left side, 5 on the right). I went for a consult thinking I needed an upper bleph; my eyelid skin was bothering me, particularly where it seemed to be hooding at the outer corners.  Doc said he thought an upper bleph would hollow out my eyes too much and  recommended a temporal brow lift instead.  He came recommended by my dermatologist and is an oculoplastic surgeon.  It was important for me to have someone who specializes in this area, no offense to general plastic surgeons. Day 1- Wednesday, day of surgery.  Got there at 9 for a 10 am procedure, was home by 2.  I do not remember any of the procedure, just feeling a bit wifty shortly after they put in the IV, then waking up in a dark room with a low grade headache.  I did not feel like eating until probably 5 pm or so, made toast but that turned out to be a mistake because chewing was surprisingly painful!  Took pain meds and iced and just rested.  Definitely needed the pain meds, without them I had an absolutely blinding headache. I only got two days' worth of acetaminophen + codeine #3 (they are so stingy these days).  The first night was pretty bad, I woke up repeatedly from the pain despite having also taken the Ambien they prescribed me.  But night #1 was the only really bad night I had.  I had upper eyelid bruising when I got home that afternoon, and by the time I went to bed I had bruising all around my eyes, on my temples, and forehead.  It was obviously even worse the next morning.  I will say at this point that I was quite alarmed at the appearance of one side, as the outer tail of the brow appeared to be pulled ridiculously high and tight.  Even though I knew it would settle, it's still a little panic-inducing.  It did indeed settle by the next day and has been settling more every day since and looks normal now. I also could raise one eyebrow but not the other for the first 24 hours or so.  Doc said that was normal and would resolve itself, and indeed it did. Days 2-6 I did not document these day by day because I just didn't feel up to it.  Days 2-4 (Thursday-Saturday) were not appreciably different from one another, though day 2 was the worst.  The bruising and swelling were bad. I took prescribed pain meds until they ran out on Saturday and continued to take OTC pain meds constantly.  I can best describe it as like your worst ever hangover: I just wanted to lie down in a cool, dark, quiet room all day.  I had a searing headache without pain meds, a moderate headache with.  Once I was able to take off the (by then very tight) head wrap on Saturday, it changed to moderate headache without pain meds and low grade headache with.  Day 5, Sunday, was the first day I felt not terrible.  I did some light household chores and picked up the dog from boarding, but I was still very tired and still had to take OTC pain meds, and was still bothered by light and noise.  Day 6, Monday, was a little better.  Went back to work, but only because we are still on full telework status.  There is no way I would have been able to go into the office, not only appearance-wise (two black eyes and a greasy hairline from having to keep ointment on the incisions for 10 days), but I am still easily tired and somewhat bothered by bright light and noise, so it's good to be in my quiet home with my dimmed computer screen. Day 7- Tuesday Bruising finally looks like it might be thinking about starting to clear up, but it's still far too extensive even to be covered with makeup.  I am still swollen.  I am not taking Motrin all day long anymore, but am taking it as needed, as a mild headache comes and goes.  There is still a lot of tightness and it feels like someone is holding my hair in a very tight ponytail and it feels like I can't squeeze my eyes shut.  This is bothering me more than the bruising.  I have some numbness/tingling in some parts of my scalp, surprisingly nowhere near the incisions.