Gliding Brow Lift
Gliding Brow Lift
Gliding Brow Lift
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-019-01486-3
I N N OV A T I V E T E C H N I QU E S FACIAL SURGERY
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Fig. 1 Subcutaneous dissection includes the frontal region up to one 3-mm vertical incisions, made bilaterally in the scalp at the anterior
centimeter below the eyebrows, and the periorbital region from the hairline, in the frontal–temporal area (a). In some cases when
temporal region laterally and inferiorly to the lower border of the indicated, the entire eyebrow and all the frontal areas are elevated (b).
zygomatic arch. Access to the subcutaneous plane is achieved via two In rare cases, a patient may need elevation of the mid-forehead (c)
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Fig. 6 New eyebrow shape and position is fixed using one or two
horizontal single horizontal stitches
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[30]. These devices are expensive, require addition distribution of the tension within the continuous running
instrumentation and expertise to deploy and can create suture. The most appropriate suture is nylon 5-0 with cut-
foreign body reaction. ting circle, 25 or 26 mm. The skin type may also
The GBL is a procedure with acceptable risk when increase the possibility of hyperpigmentation. Darker-
compared to open and endoscopic brow lifts that pre- skinned patients will have a higher risk to develop post-
dictably produces a stable aesthetic outcome. Complica- inflammatory hyperpigmentation in the treated areas during
tions for all brow lifting techniques vary according to the the early postoperative period.
incision site and plane of dissection. Though it is excepted This post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation usually
that all brow lifting techniques have complications, the resolves between 3 and 5 months. No patients in this series
endoscopic approaches appear to have a larger number and required bleaching agents or treatment for hyperpigmen-
variety of complications when compared to the open tation. The use of bleaching creams or laser would be
approach [8]. useful in the quicker resolution of this process if one
Both the open and endoscopic techniques have in experiences post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
common complications that include alopecia, scarring and Disturbances in motor function from injury to the frontal
sensory changes, with endoscopic approach having in branch of the facial nerve have been reported to be highest
addition to complications related to asymmetry, relapse with coronal incision in the subperiosteal plane (6.4%) [8].
and motor nerve disturbances [31]. Alopecia (3–9%) There were instances of asymmetrical eyebrow movement
[8, 30] and unacceptable scars (2.5–9%) [8] have been in the early postoperative period that resolved within
reported for both the open and endoscopic approaches. weeks. There were no permanent motor nerve injuries in
With the GBL, the incision is 3 mm in length just inside our series.
the anterior hairline, through which all the subcutaneous Longevity of the ideal symmetrical brow position and
detachments take place. This fact makes this surgery optimal shape is an important criterion to determine the
extremely advantageous to avoid alopecia and unaccept- success of any procedure. The reoperation rate for recurrent
able scars in relation to other techniques with longer inci- asymmetry and loss of elevation has been reported most
sions. The patients in this series did not experience any often for endoscopic techniques [30]. Patients undergoing
incidences of alopecia or unacceptable scarring. GBL in this series exhibited a stable eyebrow position in
Necrosis has been reported with subcutaneous dissection 95% of the patients with the longest at 35 months. In our
plane [8]. In the GBL, an important factor is the preser- series of GBL, there were 6 patients (5%) who experienced
vation of arterial, venous and lymphatic circulation, which loss of elevation and/or asymmetries in the early postop-
consequently lowers the risk of necrosis. In the present erative period. Four of these 6 patients underwent repeat
series, there was no tissue necrosis, even in elder patients. operation in the early postoperative period. All re-opera-
We have not established the safety of doing this extensive tions were successful in elevating and shaping the brow.
subcutaneous undermining in a patient who smokes. All 6 relapses occurred early in the development of the
The biggest risk of scarring in the GBL procedure is technique, and the relapses were felt to be related to
related to the hemostatic net. To minimize this risk of inadequate periorbital subcutaneous detachment. Based on
scarring, the Net is removed 48 h postoperatively. Despite the early failures, it is to be emphasized that the success of
this relatively short period of fixation, there is sufficient this technique lies in the degree of skin surface to be
adherence of the skin to the frontalis muscle to hold the flap undermined for treatment. The frontal and temporal area
and the eyebrow in the desired position. should be completely detached, since a larger area of
It is important to observe the skin color during the detachment and fixation is more efficient than a small area
application of the Net as well as in the early postoperative of detachment, which may prevent relapse. In our series,
period. It is especially important to monitor the traction we experienced that the greater the area of mobilization,
sutures, which are applied at much closer intervals. If the especially in the periorbital region, the better the efficiency
skin is white after 1 h, we recommend cut but not removal of the result. Patients may experience transient improve-
the traction sutures, and wait for the normal color to return. ment in crow’s feet when the dissection is taken into the
External sutures will result in marks that are typically lateral lower eyelid.
transient, but in some situations, these marks could be The main factor that we feel is responsible for the
potentially permanent. There were no patients in our series success of this procedure is the subcutaneous detachment
that experienced permanent suture marks. It must be tends to be more durable. The eyebrow is in continuity with
emphasized that the stitch tension, needle size and suture the frontal cutaneous flap, and this facilitates eyebrow lift.
diameter contribute to the formation of these markings. The weight of the undermined flap is less than when
The use of Net as a continuous suture reduces the possi- undermining at the subgaleal or subperiosteal level where
bility of these marks from occurring because there is a the flap is thicker and heavier and causes greater tension at
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the distant fixation points and which may contribute to the Conclusion
eventual recurrence of ptosis. In the subcutaneous plane,
there is destruction of the gliding plane, described by Knize Gliding brow lifting (GBL) combines subcutaneous frontal
[3], between the lateral forehead skin and tail of the brow and periorbital detachment with minimal incisions, and
and the underlying temporoparietal fascia, where the elevation and fixation of eyebrows with temporary cuta-
resultant healing of the surgical plane creates a tight neous fixation with the hemostatic net. This technique
adhesion of eyebrow in its new position. offers effective, stable results with low rate of
In contrast, the endoscopic approach relies on an adhe- complications.
sion between the repositioned periosteum and the under-
lying bone. In laboratory experiments, adhesions of Compliance with Ethical Standards
repositioned periosteum have been studied with positive Conflict of interest The authors declare that Dr. Fausto Viterbo
[32] or negative [33] effect; even if the operation is per- receives royalties from Faga Medical, the company that produces the
formed properly, the adhesion of the surgical plane will not dissectors used to perform this technique. The other authors, Dr.
prevent the skin descent and consequently recurrence of the André Auersvald and Dr. T. Gerald O’Daniel have no conflict of
interest.
eyebrow ptosis.
The direct brow lift has an advantage of optimal brow Ethical Approval All procedures performed in studies involving
shaping but is not widely performed due to the visibility of human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of
scars. Fausto Viterbo Plastic Surgery Clinic and with the 1964 Helsinki
Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
We have found that eyebrow reshaping obtained with
the GBL allows the eyebrow to be shaped precisely to a Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all indi-
predetermined desired curvature due to the skin and eye- vidual participants included in the study.
brow detachment. Once there has been adequate release
from the underlying frontalis and orbicularis oculi mus-
culature, there is malleability of the eyebrow that facilitates References
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