Since the introduction of endoscopic forehead lifting in the mid-1990s with a minimally invasive technique, i.e. with the smallest scars in the hairy scalp area, we perform forehead lifting with this technique in 90 percent of cases.
The fewer the scars, the better! This rule applies to us not only for forehead lifts, but also for other facial treatments such as face lifts or eyelid lifts. Nowadays, we only suggest a so-called open forehead lift with an incision from ear to ear in exceptional cases. In general, more and more patients want a taut forehead – we are experienced in implementing this and ensure a wrinkle-free upper part of the face.
Please feel free to make an appointment by phone (+49-89-348123) or directly in our online calendar.
OP duration
approx. 2 hours
Anaesthesia
local anaesthetic
or general anaesthetic
Clinic stay
outpatient
or 1 day in the clinic
Fit for society
after approx. 1 to 2 weeks
Sport
after approx. 3 weeks
Costs
from 3.000 €*
*Invoicing according to GOÄ fee schedule
Forehead Lift – typical problems
Many patients who come to see us for their sagging upper eyelids actually have sagging of the forehead skin and soft tissues only or in addition. The eyebrows have slipped below their normal position under the bony orbital rim and now cover the eye like a canopy. We will then gladly show you the possibilities of a forehead lift in front of the mirror. There we pull your eyebrows upwards with a gentle light touch, demonstrating where your problem really lies. Less is often more. That is why it is especially important for us to perform the procedure moderately. If the procedure is too strong, you will be left with a permanently astonished facial expression.
The forehead is constantly in motion. Deep wrinkles can form even at a young age, especially due to habitual frowning or in people who have poor eyesight and strain to pull their forehead upwards when focusing. In addition, the skin on the face loses its firmness and elasticity with age. In addition, other factors such as sunlight, rapid weight loss diets or congenital factors cause a loss of elasticity in the skin and accelerate this process.
This causes your eyebrows to droop over time and the skin on your upper eyelids to wrinkle more and more. You may find yourself pulling your forehead upwards to bring your eyebrows back into the usual position. But this creates even more and deeper furrowed wrinkles. Your face takes on an angry, sad, old or tired expression without matching your own emotional world.
What can a Forehead Lift change?
A forehead lift can eliminate these problems by tightening the skin and muscles of the forehead. It gives your face a younger, less worried and fresher appearance. A pleasant side effect is a lifting of the eyebrows to an individually adjustable extent. For many years, correcting forehead wrinkles was only possible by making a long incision in the hair or along the hairline. Today, this is almost always possible with small incisions behind the hairline. These incisions are particularly inconspicuous and are covered by your hair. The resulting scars between the hair roots are only a few centimetres long.
However, a forehead lift not only corrects the skin area, but also the underlying soft tissues. After tightening the skin, soft tissue and musculature, frown lines and worry lines are improved for a long time. Since the eyebrows are lifted at the same time, the formation of wrinkles on the upper eyelids (drooping eyelids) is also reduced.
In cases with pronounced “frown lines”, the muscle responsible for contracting the eyebrows is weakened. The reduced function prevents frown lines from forming again in the future. You can roughly imagine how a forehead lift can change your appearance if you hold your palms sideways above your eyebrows in front of the mirror. Carefully pull the skin of the forehead and with it the eyebrows upwards – this roughly corresponds to the result of a forehead lift.
What kind of Forehead Lift methods exist?
In principle, we distinguish between two methods:
The conventional forehead lift
The conventional open forehead lift, which was mainly used in the past, requires an extensive incision behind the hairline around the entire upper half of the face. The forehead is mobilised, tightened and sutured again after removal of excess skin. Afterwards, the suture of the incision is hidden behind the hairline. In patients with a very high forehead, the surgeon places the incision directly in front of the hairline so that the hairless forehead is not additionally raised by the tightening; in this case, the suture runs in the forehead-hairline boundary around the individual hair roots.
The endoscopic forehead lift
Today, a so-called endoscope is used more frequently. With endoscopic forehead lifting we only need about four very small incisions behind the hairline. Through these incisions, the forehead is loosened, tightened and fixed under endoscopic guidance and under the control of an endoscopic camera. As a less invasive procedure, the endoscopic forehead lift is particularly suitable for patients whose skin has sufficient elasticity of its own. Through the small incisions, only the narrow endoscope is given access to the forehead area.
Which type of narcosis is used during a Forehead Lift?
The open forehead lift is usually performed under general anaesthesia and the endoscopic forehead lift is often performed with local anaesthesia, but with additional sedation (twilight sleep). An anaesthetist monitors you throughout the operation and ensures that you are pain-free.
Before the operation, an anaesthetist clarifies whether the patient is ready for anaesthesia. In the case of local anaesthesia, a sedative is also given (either as a tablet or as an intravenous injection into the arm vein), which induces a kind of twilight sleep. You are awake but relaxed and insensitive to pain.
How does a forehead lift work in the practice of Drs. von Isenburg & Neuhann-Lorenz?
1 The personal information
Before any surgical intervention, the patient must be given comprehensive information about the planned treatment and its risks. Our specialists Dr von Isenburg, Dr Neuhann-Lorenz and Dr Haas are available to answer all your questions. It is always crucial that you clearly express your fears and concerns. This is the only way we can allay your fears.
With the consent form documented before the procedure, you then testify that you agree with the type of treatment and have been informed about all the complications addressed.
2 Vorbereitung auf Behandlung
Especially before an operation, you should be in the best possible overall health. Limit your nicotine and alcohol consumption to a minimum. This will increase the chances of healing and success enormously. Take medication regularly; discuss your intake in detail with your surgeon. The intake of hormone-containing medicines (pill, hormone replacement products) may have to be temporarily discontinued.
3 Forehead lift procedure
Open forehead lift
The skin incision runs behind the forehead-hairline boundary in the area of the hairy scalp. In the case of a very high forehead or in men with a hairline that has moved backwards, the skin incision is made exactly at the hairline in order to avoid further raising of the forehead. Then the forehead skin together with the forehead muscles is lifted off the periosteum, the excess skin is removed and the forehead muscles are smoothed. Finally, the incision is sutured and a head bandage is applied for one to two days up to one week.
Endoscopic forehead lift
Under local anaesthesia, about four incisions of up to two centimetres in size are made longitudinally about two centimetres behind the hairline within the hairy scalp. Through these incisions, a narrow endoscope is inserted under the forehead skin, musculature and periosteum in order to make the forehead tissues visible from the inside and to be able to perform the operation.
The forehead muscle, which is tightly attached to the bony forehead, is carefully detached to about the lateral ends of the eyebrows and can then be moved upwards. To fix the desired position of the eyebrows, up to four mini-fasteners are now inserted into the bony skullcap at the points of the incisions in the hairy scalp, to which the soft parts of the forehead are fixed in their new position. Depending on the extent of the wrinkles, the height of the fixation can be varied. After closing the incisions, a head bandage is applied to complete the operation.
What is to consider after a Forehead Lift?
Directly after the procedure
After the operation you will have a head bandage for a few days. The purpose of the head bandage is to prevent bruising or swelling from forming on your forehead. It is possible that you may get a “black eye” or swelling around the eyes after the operation. Cool the eye area with a cooling mask every two hours for a few days. Make sure that the cooling mask is never placed directly on the skin, otherwise frostbite may occur.
Consider in the first weeks
The postoperative healing phase is only up to two weeks. Then the stitches are removed and the ability to socialise is only slightly impaired. Sporting activities are possible again after about three weeks. With the eye ointment prescribed for you, which you put into the conjunctival sac especially at night, you can safely protect your eyes from drying out.
Consider in the first weeks
The postoperative healing phase is only up to two weeks. Then the stitches are removed and the ability to socialise is only slightly impaired. Sporting activities are possible again after about three weeks. With the eye ointment prescribed for you, which you put into the conjunctival sac especially at night, you can safely protect your eyes from drying out.
Important to consider!
Also reduce your nicotine and alcohol consumption to a minimum postoperatively and avoid sauna and steam bath visits for a few months! By the end of the second week, you will usually look recovered and relaxed, and most patients start working again one week after the procedure.
Can a forehead lift be repeated?
In principle, a forehead lift can be repeated. Regular check-ups with your plastic surgeon help to detect and remedy any complications at an early stage. If problems occur, it must be examined in each individual case whether and which corrective measures should be taken.
The cost of a forehead lift
A forehead lift is an operation that usually serves to improve the external appearance. Therefore, the costs cannot usually be covered by health insurance.
Where does the treatment take place?
Depending on your individual situation, either an endoscopic forehead lift or – less frequently – an open conventional surgical method is used. The endoscopic forehead lift can often be performed on an outpatient basis in the rooms of the Iatros Clinic. The conventional procedure often requires a one-day stay in hospital, then either at the Iatros Clinic or the Paracelsius Clinic in Munich.
Please feel free to make an appointment by phone (+49-89-348123) or directly in our online calendar.
