What is Forehead and Brow Feminisation?
When referring to facial feminisation surgery, the brow lift is the most important procedure to achieve a feminine appearance. This is because some of the most gender determining characteristics of the face are found in the upper portion of the face, including the forehead, brows and eyes. With this procedure, these important features are corrected dramatically, maintaining, however a natural look. The forehead lift can be undergone as a single procedure, although it is commonly combined with other surgical corrections, such as rhinoplasty, chin reduction, Adam’s apple reduction etc.
Performance
The forehead lift is performed under general anesthesia and patients usually stay overnight in the clinic. With this procedure, multiple areas of the forehead, brows and eyes are corrected. It provides access to reduce the bony structures of the forehead, such as the frontal eminence, the glabella and the orbital rim. Depending on the structure and the projection, it can either be flattened or an osteotomy may be performed. The outer portion of the orbital rim is reduced three dimensionally, which gives a very feminine appearance of the brows and eyes. The outer angles of the eyes are also lifted and in some cases a canthopexy or canthoplasty are performed.
Procedure
When planning this procedure, it is crucial to address the hairline of the forehead and either maintain it or move it upwards or downwards. This is even more important considering that future hair loss might reveal the scar and make hair transplants necessary. The incision is placed either directly in the hairline, which allows the overall height of the forehead to be reduced, or 3-5cm above the hairline, when the forehead height is acceptable. However, a hairline incision is most commonly used, because it also allows to manipulate the hairline in the temple areas.
Recovery
Recovery after a brow lift is usually fast, but some minor bruising of the eyes is to be expected. Most patients can return to their daily activities after 10 days, although exercise must be avoided for at least one month. For the first 2 weeks, the brows might be extremely lifted, and this overcorrection settles after one month. The scars are almost invisible from day one. One disadvantage of the brow lift is the numbness of the area above the scar, which is only partially restored after some months. The results of the brow lift are permanent.