Mini Brow Lift

There are two important reasons to spend time reviewing before-and-after pictures when considering plastic surgery. The first is to determine what procedure, if any, actually serves to improve your undesired appearance. The second is to distinguish which surgeon performs the best work.

There are many procedures discussed on the web and touted by the cosmetic surgery community and media as aesthetic dream-makers. Often, however, they are not. Be skeptical and use before-and-after pictures to determine which procedures will actually address your concerns. If an operation works well, there will be thousands of pictures demonstrating its success. If it's hard to find good before-and-after pictures of a procedure used for the problem you're trying to address, then it probably doesn't exist. Remember to be honest with yourself about your appearance when evaluating web pictures. The mirror lies. We recommend that you take pictures of yourself and set them in front of your computer while you do your research. Make sure that the "befores" look like you and then determine what procedures work. Just because the media or some web site states that fat injection to the buttocks will lift the butt, that doesn't make it so.

Second, once you've identified the best operation for you, it's easy to determine which surgeons achieve the most natural and attractive results. All people are hard-wired to appreciate natural attractiveness. Fortunately, it's easy for you to identify who can meet your highest expectations simply by reviewing before-and-after photo galleries.

Find a surgeon who specializes in cosmetic plastic surgery and performs numerous brow lift procedures per month.

Seek a surgeon who upholds the proper credentials including certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), membership in the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS).

Ask if the surgeon uses only an accredited, state-of-the-art surgical facility. Your brow lift procedure will be performed in our AAAHC-certified Apex Surgical Facility in Golden, Colorado. Based on the latest recommendations from the Anesthesia Patient Safety Council, we prefer to use general anesthesia for our brow lift procedures. General anesthesia minimizes the risk of airway problems, ensures a comfortable experience for the patient and surgeon, and makes for an efficient procedure. At Apex, we use only board certified anesthesiologists and a staff of nurses who specialize in caring for aesthetic patients. After your brow lift procedure is complete, you will leave the facility by way of a private exit out of sight of other patients.

Decide, if upon meeting the surgeon, you make a connection with him or her and all of your questions are respectfully and sensibly answered.

Favorable brow aesthetics depend on a number of variables, with ethnicity, gender, and overall facial shape being among the most important. An eyebrow that looks ideal on one person may be quite out of place on another. There are several general guidelines, however.

• The medial portion of the eyebrow should be at or below the orbital rim.
• The tail of the brow should be higher than the medial brow.
• The peak of the brow should sit 2/3 of the way out along the eyebrow

When these ideals are met, the eyebrow usually looks good, even if the position is a bit low. Indeed, a quick look at the cover photos of any fashion magazine will illustrate this point. Most cover girls have relatively low, lush, well-shaped eyebrows, and this should be our surgical goal. Over-elevated eyebrows, either from surgery or Botox/Dysport, are an "across-the-room" give-away that someone has had too much work.

A host of factors contribute to aging of the brow and upper eyelid. Soft tissue relaxation, loss of subcutaneous fat, enlargement of the bony orbit, and a decrease in the elasticity of skin all contribute. In some cases, the position of the shape and the brow are significantly compromised yet the eyelid remains well preserved. These patients require a brow lift only. Conversely, the brow may be fine, with the lid being more responsible for the visual appearance of aging. A blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) may be completely corrective for these patients. Finally, the entire area may benefit from a combination of brow lift and upper blepharoplasty.

Brow lifts raise and reshape the brow and lateral eyelid. They typically do not affect the underlying musculature, and so do not remove all of the wrinkles in the forehead. In cases where wrinkles and creases are due to muscle activity, a toxin like Botox or Dysport can work wonders to smooth out the area of concern. Alternatively, if the wrinkles are fixed and due to a loss of skin quality and elasticity, some sort of resurfacing or collagen induction with a laser, chemical peel, or Derma rolling may be indicated.