Secondary endoscopic forehead lift in patients with previous coronal brow lifts

The development of endoscopic surgical techniques has allowed an evolution from the standard coronal forehead lift to a minimally invasive one. Endoscopy avoids many of the undesirable results of the coronal approach while it remains very efficacious. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of endoscopic forehead lift in patients who have previously undergone coronal brow lift.

A retrospective review was performed on the medical records of 726 consecutive patients who had undergone endoscopic forehead lift between 1994 and 2004. Sixty-three patients were identified who had undergone prior coronal incision brow lift and then required subsequent elevation of the forehead using endoscopy. Those who had persistent low eyebrows and forehead wrinkles underwent the standard minimal incision endoscopic approach. Patients with severe brow ptosis and excessive height of the forehead underwent a biplanar endoscopic forehead lift.

Of the 63 endoscopic forehead lifts performed, 49 used the minimal access technique, while 14 employed the biplanar approach. The subject population consisted of 58 female and 5 male patients whose average age was 57 years (range of 42 to 80 years). Eighty-seven percent of these brow lifts also had concomitant rhytidectomy, and 4% had blepharoplasty. Average follow-up was 21 months (range 1 to 7 years). Following the endoscopic procedure, none of the patients had frontal nerve injury, alopecia, or persistent glabellar wrinkle lines. Complications included 1 forehead dysesthesia, 1 forehead irregularity, 1 eyebrow malposition, 1 persistent horizontal forehead wrinkling, and 2 hematomas. Operative management was not required for any of these complications.

The secondary endoscopic forehead lift is effective in rejuvenating the upper face in the patient who has had a previous coronal forehead lift. It elevates the eyebrows and reduces both transverse and vertical wrinkles while avoiding further displacement of the hairline. The low rate of complications is comparable to that of primary endoscopic forehead lifts. Finally, serial follow-up indicates that the results are effective at correcting brow ptosis and are long lasting.