There are various approaches to lifting the brow, and the terms browlift and forehead lift are often used interchangeably.

Dr. Bentkover performs a number of different types of browlifts and forehead lifts. Sometimes, patients who think they need an upper eyelid blepharoplasty to remove excess upper eyelid skin actually are better served by having a browlift/forehead lift. Some patients may require a browlift/forehead lift and a blepharoplasty. Also, these procedures are often done at the same time as a facelift.

In a direct browlift the brow is lifted through an incision made along the upper edge of the eyebrow or sometimes in a wrinkle very close to the brow. In a mid forehead lift the incision is placed in a deep forehead crease in the middle of the forehead. Dr. Bentkover most commonly does these particular procedures on men whose hairlines are too high to hide the incisions of an endoscopic browlift or open forehead lift. A very deep crease in the middle of the forehead will hide an incision reasonably well, but Dr. Bentkover prefers to hide the incision in the hairline, if at all possible, with an endoscopic browlift or open forehead lift.

An endoscopic browlift (or endoscopic forehead lift) is performed through five small incisions hidden behind the hairline. Using a special sterile telescope called an endoscope, Dr. Bentkover can carefully identify and release the muscles which pull your brow down excessively. With an endoscopic browlift you can usually expect 3-5mm of elevation of the brow. The major advantage of the endoscopic approach is the small incisions and less post-operative numbness.

If you need more elevation of the brow, an open technique may be better for you. The open forehead lift uses an incision hidden behind the hairline that extends from ear to ear (coronal incision), an incision hidden at the front of the hairline (pre-trichal incision) or a wavy, zigzag incision hidden in the fine hair of the hairline (trichophytic incision). Your incision may also be a modification that combines one or more of these types of incisions. The advantage of an open forehead lift is that it can give more elevation of the brow than the endoscopic technique, often 5mm to 1cm of elevation. The principle disadvantage of the open technique is a longer period of numbness of the scalp after surgery and sometimes some permanent numbness of the scalp.

At your consultation, Dr. Bentkover will carefully evaluate the height of your brow and listen to your desires. He will recommend the procedure he feels will work best for you. Above all, he wants to make sure you will be happy with the result and not have a "surprised" look.

Often Dr. Bentkover will recommend combining a browlift or forehead lift with an upper eyelid blepharoplasty to remove excess skin that remains after the brow has been put in a better position. He likes to do the blepharoplasty as a secondary procedure under local anesthesia in our office operating room a few weeks to a few months after the browlift or forehead lift. In this way, he can better judge exactly how much skin needs to be removed from the upper eyelid.

Insurance

Occasionally, your insurance company may pay for part or all of the cost of surgery if the procedure is performed to specifically improve impaired vision (as documented on a visual field test). If you think your vision is impaired by a low brow, you should have a visual field test performed in an ophthalmologist's office prior to your consultation with Dr. Bentkover and bring a copy of that test with you to your consultation. Because coverage criteria vary among different insurance companies, it is recommended that you check with your own insurance company to determine the level of coverage and criteria for coverage prior to booking your consultation.