Can Brow Bone Implants Create The Hunter Eye Look?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have been wondering if it would be possible to lower the brow ridge and eyebrows to obtain a more masculine, aggressive eye area through a two-step process:

1. Insert a supraorbital, or brow ridge, implant that hooks around the bottom of the forehead and over the top of the eye socket, or even into it, sort of like an infraorbital/cheek implant that wraps around the bottom of the eye socket. This would theoretically bring the brow bone down and not just outward, covering up at least part of the upper eye lid, similar to how a cheek implant makes the cheekbones look higher.

2. Assuming the eyebrows don’t move along with the brow implant due to soft tissue, laser-remove the top of the eyebrows and transplant new follicles below the existing eyebrows, or over the brow bone implant, essentially shifting the eyebrows down over the implant.

Do you think this would be feasible? If not, what limiting factors would there be?

A:In answer to your brow bone augmentation questions:

1) While a brow bone implant can wrap around the supra-lateral orbital rim there is no assurance that it will drive down the eyebrows as much as you may desire. How effective it would be in that regard depends on one’s starting eyebrow position on the bone.  The eyebrow tissues are quite rigidly fixed to the bone and the tightest part of the forehead is the lower third so stretching that area out is difficult if the goal is a much lower eyebrow position into the upper eyelid area.

2) Technically what makes the most sense is tissue expansion of the lower third of the forehead with an initial implant. Then if that doesn’t achieve  the deaired lowering a second larger more angulated brow bone implant would as the tissues have been released and stretched out.

3) Hair removal and hair transplantation can be done for the eyebrows as you have described and would be an option after the initial brow bone implant in lieu of a second brow bone implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon