Do you have a drooping brow that makes you look tired, angry, or sad? A brow lift performed by Dr. Sasaki at his Sasaki Advanced Aesthetic Medical Center in Pasadena may help improve the appearance of a sagging brow. In some patients, a significant lowering of the brow contributes to pseudo-excess of skin to the upper eyelids. The doctor will demonstrate the natural outcome after a surgical brow lift that not only brightens your appearance, but also corrects some of the pseudo-extra skin folds within your upper eyelids. However, if too much extra skin is present within your upper lid proper, then there may be the need to combine a brow lift procedure with a more conservative upper eyelid blepharoplasty to obtain the desired results. In the past, Dr. Sasaki performed open-brow lifts either by a coronal forehead lift (transverse incision about 2-3 inches behind the hairline from ear-to-ear) or by a pretrichial forehead lift (transverse incision along the anterior hairline) as options for forehead brow rejuvenation. Dr. Sasaki will explain the advantages and disadvantages for undergoing coronal or pretrichial approaches for forehead rejuvenation. Since 1995, Dr. Sasaki changed his open-approaches to an “endoscopic close- approach” to reduce the incidence and frequency of complications attributed to open approaches (hair loss, sensory reduction, elongation of the forehead height, widened long scars, brow asymmetries).
If your brow and upper eyelid findings are normal for your age, ethnicity, and sex or are minimal concern to you, then Dr. Sasaki will tell you so and will concentrate on your concerns on your lower eyelid, face and neck areas. .
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Endoscopic Brow Lift
With other innovators, Dr. Sasaki assisted in the development and implementation of the endoscopic camera system and specialized instruments for aesthetic surgical procedures by teaching courses throughout the world. His clinical experience resulted in the publication of his second book (Endoscopic, Aesthetic, & Reconstructive Surgery, Lipincott-Raven Publishers, 1996) which represented one of the first books on this subject.
The endoscopic brow lift represents a minimally-invasive technique to weaken a number of interbrow depressor muscles, to elevate selectively the inner and central brow, to smooth out the horizontal forehead wrinkles lines, and to reposition the outside tail of the brow, thereby clearing the hooded tissue above the lash line. After an appropriate and natural lifting of the brow complex, there will be a simultaneous reduction of primary upper lid skin. In some cases, the amount of upper lid skin relocation will be sufficient to cancel out any skin procedure to the upper lid. In other circumstances, a simultaneous conservative removal of upper lid skin may be advised. A major difference and advantage of this contemporary approach (that distinguishes it from the long-established coronal forehead lift) is the use of 5 small hidden incisions within the hairline of the scalp. Smaller inconspicuous incisions produce less visible scars and reduce the chance for hair loss and minimize nerve injuries. A tiny camera and long narrow instruments are passed through these access openings to completely release structures that prevent brow elevation. The elevated brow complex is then anchored by absorbing sutures to its new raised, natural and aesthetically pleasing position. Because there is no skin removal after an endoscopic procedure, the frontal hairline remains near its original location, surgical hair loss is minimized, and the chance of a surprised look is significantly reduced.
Dr. Gordon H. Sasaki
Triple Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon
Few plastic surgeons can match Dr. Sasaki's combination of expertise, compassion, and experience. He's a distinguished educator and a renowned innovator whose work and research have influenced a generation of plastic surgeons. Dr. Sasaki will work with you to make the improvements you desire.
An endoscopic brow lift may take up to several hours to perform, preferably under general anesthesia, at the hospital. The selected anesthesiologists, with whom Dr. Sasaki regularly works, will meet you in the pre-operative area to answer your questions and to review the details of your anesthesia experience. After surgery, you may be discharged or choose to stay overnight at the hospital. Minimal swelling and bruising are expected because of the use of a drainage tube that is removed the day after surgery. Since there are no surgical dressings, you may shower and shampoo your hair any time you feel the need. The absorbing sutures, that approximate the skin incisions, are trimmed 2 weeks after surgery. You may be up and about in a few days, but plan to give yourself about a week to recover. Dr. Sasaki will advise you when you can resume strenuous activity between 3 and 6 weeks after your surgery.
Other Brow Lift Options
The doctor may suggest a less lengthy and extensive procedure, such a lateral brow lift, rather than an endoscopic forehead and periorbital lift in selected patients with lesser degrees of lateral brow descension. Under local anesthesia in the office, a variable ellipse of skin is removed at the temporal hairline after releasing tissues down to the tail of the brow. Suture suspensions from the brow to the hairline incision stabilize the elevated brow. The limited hairline incision is approximated with absorbing sutures and heals with a minimal and hidden scar.
Nonsurgical Brow Lift
Dr. Sasaki may indicate a non-invasive procedure, such as Utherapy, that can successfully tighten and lift the lateral brow in a predictable manner to improve the overhanging hooding tissue. This treatment delivers a number of thermal coagulation points at deeper (temporoparietalis fascia) and superficial (reticular dermis) levels. Such a limited procedure may take less than ½ hour to complete and results in no skin markings and downtime. Natural clinical lifting is usually observed in 8 of 10 patients by 3 months and can persist up to 1-1½ years. This revolutionary procedure may be repeated as necessary to maintain a rejuvenated appearance.
Are you ready to discover all the ways Sasaki Advanced Aesthetic Medical Center in Pasadena can enhance your appearance and confidence? Request a consultation using our online form or call for an appointment.