Eyes Wide Open: Blepharoplasty and the Endoscopic Brow Lift Explained
- Posted on: Dec 17 2018
When you work in the cosmetic and aesthetics world, you start to see aging a bit differently.
When most people look in the mirror and inspect signs of aging, they tend to see everything all at once. They see the entire face, comparing it to years past, making them feel old. When we look at a face here at Azul, we break it up into parts, seeing the specific signs of aging to figure out how we can treat them individually.
For example, we might focus on the eye are first. There, we might see crow’s feet at the corners and drooping loose skin above. Next, we might look closely at the forehead and see deep, heavy lines that get more pronounced by the day. Then we might move on to the area just below the eyes and see heavy bags that make you look exhausted all the time. Then we start to decide the surgical or non-surgical treatments that can best treat those signs of aging.
Taking the signs that I mentioned above, we would consider two surgical procedures, both having to do with the upper face. In combination, these procedures will get rid of a tired, aged expression and heavy, angry lines on the brow. They are blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and an endoscopic brow lift.
More commonly known as eyelid surgery, this procedure is considered to be one of the most effective and long-lasting methods of reversing the signs of aging, and is an integral part of a harmonious facial rejuvenation.
There are two types of blepharoplasty: upper eyelid surgery and lower eyelid surgery. Each one addresses the specific signs of aging in these areas. For the upper eyelids, we are looking to treat the skin laxity and fatty deposits that cause the tissue to droop over the eyes, often impairing a person’s vision. For the lower eyelids, we are looking at fixing those dark circles, puffiness and sagging that gives us an exhausted appearance, even when we are wide awake. We generally recommend that our patients get upper and lower eyelid surgery done at the same time to minimize recovery time.
With Dr. Flaharty’s expertise, he places the incisions in the natural contours of the upper eyelids, so any potential scars are practically invisible. For lower eyelid surgery, he frequently uses a “stitch-less” procedure. He removes the excess fat from a tiny incision on the inner aspect of the eyelid. The incision heals in about a day without the need for stitches and the skin gently conforms to the new smooth shape. If patients have an excess of lower eyelid skin, he will remove the excess and hide the incision in a natural line or fold near the lash or outer corner of the eye. It’s genuinely a fantastic procedure that will make you appear more awake and energetic!
An endoscopic brow lift is a far cry from the old-style coronal brow lifts that would leave people with a permanently surprised expression. Thanks to modern surgical techniques, the endoscopic brow lift is much less invasive and more effective, giving you completely natural-looking results.
Rather than making one large incision, Dr. Flaharty will make four tiny incisions around the hairline, effectively hiding any scars that might develop. He then uses an endoscope (a tiny surgical camera) to inspect the areas under the skin that need to be treated. He will then release the brow, moving the tissue and securing it in place with small bio-absorbable devices attached to the bone. As they dissolve, your own tissue will then hold your brow lift in place.
Recovery Periods
As both of these are surgical procedures, they will have recovery periods associated with them. Part of the reason we recommend getting both procedures done at the same time is so that only one recovery period will be necessary.
For eyelid surgery, we generally recommend that you take three days to a week of “social down time” to recover, during which you should use an ice compress to reduce the swelling. It will take about two weeks for the bruising and swelling to fade. The endoscopic brow lift has a slightly longer recovery period, usually around ten to fourteen days before the swelling is gone.
While eyelid surgery and an endoscopic brow lift will rejuvenate the upper areas of the face, there are still lots more areas that can show visible signs of aging, like around your mouth, your jawline, nose and more. That’s why Dr. Flaharty believes in a harmonious rejuvenation, treating every part of the face to make sure that there isn’t a single part that looks older than the rest. For this, he may recommend getting procedures like a face and neck lift and fat transfer at the same time as the eyelid surgery and endoscopic brow lift.
If you aren’t quite ready for surgery yet, we also offer many non-surgical cosmetic procedures that can help address the areas around the eyes and forehead. If you would like to book a free consultation with Dr. Flaharty to discuss your options, call us at (239) 415-7576. If you would like more information about all the procedures that we offer, you can visit our website at www.azulbeauty.com.
Tagged with: Azul Cosmetic Surgery, Azul Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Spa, brow lift, procedures
Posted in: Procedures