Brow lifts are a popular procedure for creating a more youthful look, but depending on the surgeon’s skills, the operation can produce uneven results. Some patients who get a brow lift end up looking constantly surprised.

Now, a new study shows that a certain technique can provide the proper look.

The study focused on two groups of women undergoing brow lift surgery. The first group ranged from age 20 to 30, and the second was between ages 50 and 60. The study examined the facial measurements of the women in both groups before and after their brow lift. The overall findings were that the eyebrow area becomes naturally elevated with age. And surgery on the mid and medial brow area produced results that didn’t look youthful or aesthetically pleasing.

Doctors concluded that elevating the lateral brow area can offer the most natural look. And surgeons who take this approach can save their patients a lot of surprise.

The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Approved by the FDA in September 2009, Ulthera is sweeping the nation as the newest non-invasive facelift technology.

Ulthera works through focused ultrasound. Focused ultrasound allows doctors to look deep inside the skin and treat areas without surgery. “We can actually see the layers, the skin, the fat, the muscle,” says Dr. Barry DiBernardo. “And then we target the muscle layer that we pull in a face lift, and it locks in on that layers and fires little pulses which tighten and shrink that layer.”

It works the same as a facelift in that when doctors lift the bow, cheek or jowl line, they are targeting the muscle layer under the skin–not the skin itself–and pulling it tight. “[Ulthera] targets that layer which we would otherwise do in a face lift, and tighten it with no downtime, no anesthesia.”  Ultrasound accomplishes the same thing by targeting that muscle but acting through the skin to shrink the muscle and draw it tighter. Article continues below video player.

This procedure works best for patients with the beginning signs of aging, not those who have lots of excess skin and muscle. “Those who are not that bad, who are starting to have loose structures, who have the jawline diminished,” says Dr. DiBernardo. “Those would be very good candidates, and they like the fact that they don’t need surgery.”

Types of Forehead Lifts

Several types of forehead lift that accommodate the needs of the patient are available. These include:

•    Mid-forehead Lift – A mid-forehead lift is designated for patients 65 years and older who have heavy drooping eyebrows and the deepest forehead wrinkles. The surgeon usually makes incisions within the forehead wrinkles and removes the excess skin, fat, and muscle. This is done so that the incisions created in the deep wrinkles are hidden once the patient reaches the end of recovery.
•    Coronal Forehead Lift - Coronal forehead lifts are performed by making an incision from one ear to the other across the forehead and elevating the entire forehead and brow.
•    Endoscopic Forehead Lift – An endoscopic forehead lift is the most common and the latest technique being performed. In this technique, a surgical telescope known as an endoscope is used to elevate the brows and smoothen the forehead wrinkles through small incisions created behind the hairline.

What to Expect
Forehead lifts are done on an outpatient basis and can be performed under ‘twilight’ or general anesthesia. Cigarettes and excessive exposure to the sun should be avoided for 6 months prior to the surgery. After the surgery there will be some swelling and pronounced portions of the face. Any swelling usually subsides in 24-48 hours and bruising resolves in 2 weeks. Forehead lift incisions are usually inconspicuous because they follow the natural hair line.

Risks and Complications
Complications are rare and minor in a forehead lift when performed by a surgeon trained with the technique. But certain complication can still arise. These complications may involve damage to the nerves that control the eyebrow and forehead movements, hair loss at the incision line and infection and bleeding. It is imperative that before undergoing a forehead lift, a patient must have enough knowledge about the procedure.
The results of a forehead or brow lift can be subtle or dramatic, depending on your appearance and goals for the procedure. Since the healing process of a forehead lift is gradual, it can take several months before you see accurate results.