Do I Need A Browlift At The Same Time As My Blepharoplasties?

Q: Dr. Eppley, My droopy eyelids are driving me crazy. While I have always had very fleshy and heavy eyelids, they have gotten worse as I age. After my 40s (I am 55 now), they began to sag badly. Putting on makeup has become very difficult. What’s even worse is that it is making my forehead wrinkle. My eyelids are heavy and they seem to be in the way of me seeing. Without realizing it, I tense my forehead muscles to lift my brows up. This lifts up some of the eyelid skin and makes me see better. All of this forehead muscle tensing has given me permanent creases in my forehead. Should I just have my eyelids done or both my eyelids and my forehead?

A: Droopy and heavy eyelids, besides interfering with you seeing, can make you look sad and tired. Blepharoplasty (eyelid lift or tuck) can open them up dramatically and give you a fresher and more alert appearance. (some call it a youthful change) That is certainly what you would benefit from as you have realized.

A browlift is a good complementary procedure to blepharoplasties if your brows have dropped with age. Lifting one’s brows up can signify that it is either a reaction to drooping eyelid skin or that the brows are too low as well. That is an important distinction to make. I suspect that it is more of a reaction to your eyelid skin issue. Therefore a browlift is not what you really need. More likely you would benefit from Botox injections to ‘detrain’ your forehead muscles from the muscular responses they have now learned to do.  

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana