The Procedure + Surgical Techniques

There are different surgical approaches to a brow lift, dependent on your surgeon and your individual needs. Generally speaking, a brow lift involves an incision made from temple to temple behind and hidden in your hairline. Your surgeon will elevate the skin and muscle in the forehead, and remove any excess skin. This tightens the forehead and minimises the appearance of wrinkles in the area. By keeping the incision site hidden in the hairline, the subsequent scar can be camouflaged in the hair.

For further information on the procedure, we highly recommend you watch the animated video on our website, which outlines this surgery in more detail.

Hospital Stay and Anaesthesia

For reasons of patient safety, this procedure is performed under a general anaesthetic with an anaesthetist present. Surgery can take place as a day procedure, however, an overnight stay may be required, especially if combined with another procedure. For example, many patients choose to have a brow lift at the same time as a facelift. In that case, your hospital stay may be longer. Your plastic surgeon will discuss your choices in your initial consultation and determine which option is best suited for you.

Your Consultation

In order to keep your consultation as smooth and efficient as possible, we ask that you please bring all relevant documentation with you on the day. This includes your referral letter, Medicare card, private health insurance details, any third party or return to work insurance information, and any relevant scans i.e. x-ray or ultrasounds.  

During your initial consultation with your Specialist Plastic Surgeon, you will have an extended opportunity to discuss your expectations and desired outcomes, along with any questions you may have about your procedure.

You will then meet with one of our friendly and experienced nurses. You will have clinical images taken in our blue room as a before and after reference for both yourself and your surgeon (please note that all our images are confidential and are stored securely inline with the current privacy act) During this time you may also be fitted with a compression garment if indicated by your surgeon.

The final stage involves meeting with your surgeon’s personal assistant. You will be given an in depth quote, outlining the surgeon, hospital and anaesthetist fees, along with some take home information on your procedure.

There is a lot of information to take in after your first consultation. We encourage patients to go home and discuss their procedure with loved ones and come back for a subsequent visit. We find patients almost always come back with additional questions they hadn’t previously thought of, and your second visit allows you to go into your surgery feeling confident and fully informed about your procedure.

We recommend that you allow an hour for this consultation. Please keep this in mind when organising parking so that you don’t feel the need to rush.

Before your procedure

There are a number of things you can start to implement before your procedure, to encourage a smooth recovery and ensure you are as comfortable as possible post surgery.

It is important that you:

• Exercise, having good physical health will significantly help your recovery process
• Provide a complete medical history for your specialist plastic surgeon; this should include all current medications, as some may need to be stopped prior to surgery.
• Quit smoking
• Because you’re having general anaesthesia, it is important that you pre-arrange someone to transport you to and from your surgery, as well as stay with you 48 hours after returning home.
• Ensure you follow pre-operative instructions from your surgeon, such as fasting times, or your procedure may have to be cancelled.
• You may wish to pre purchase medical grade camouflage makeup, to help cover any residual redness or bruising post surgery. Many of our facial procedure patients find this helpful when getting back to day-to-day activities. We are pleased to offer our patients the entire Jane Iredale collection, a medical grade mineral makeup range that is safe to use post operatively.
• Prepare your recovery area! You’ll want to have everything you need to recover easily accessible and within arms reach. We suggest comfortable pillows, icepacks, prescribed medications, emergency contact details, a phone, as well as things to keep you entertained.

Recovery

Recovery time is highly individual, however, we find many patients are able to resume non-strenuous activities after a few days and return to work after 2-3 weeks. Vigorous activity and exercise should be avoided for the first month, however gentle walking is fine after the first few days.

Your time frame for recovery will vary depending on your individual surgery details, the nature of your employment and your overall level of health. Your surgeon will discuss this with you prior to surgery, and it is important to allow yourself the recommended recovery time.

On discharge, you will be given specific postoperative instructions to facilitate recovery, and a follow-up appointment will be made with your plastic surgeon. These instructions will cover everything you will need to know in order to make your recovery as smooth and comfortable as possible.  

Post-surgery it is common to have localised bruising and swelling around the upper face and forehead. This typically resolves within the first two weeks, but can persist for up to a month. If previously indicated by your surgeon, it is important you wear your compression garment and do your best to sleep with your head elevated. This will assist in reducing swelling. Feeling of tightness in your forehead, along with headaches and some discomfort, are all normal symptoms in your initial postoperative period.

After approximately ten days it is safe to use mineral makeup to help cover any residual redness or bruising if you wish. At this stage, we offer a complimentary camouflage lesson using the Jane Iredale mineral makeup range.   As a practice our philosophy is built around holistic treatment. For this reason, during your makeup consultation you will also be given the opportunity to discuss ways you can care for and protect your skin, post-surgery and in the future. This includes skincare, make up, non-surgical treatment options and most importantly – sun protection!

We are dedicated to supporting you to make a swift, uncomplicated recovery. A 24/7 on-call medical assistance service is available for all post-operative patients.  it’s your journey, but we’ll be with you every step of the way!

View post-operation information here

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