[Garnet Plastic Surgery Dr. Baek In-su Plastic Surgery Column] Fast Recovery After Forehead Lift in a Woman in Her 50s

From the representative director of Garnet Plastic Surgery

Doctor's Note

Hello^^ I am Dr. Baek In-su, a board-certified plastic surgeon and the representative director of Garnet Plastic Surgery.

Today, I would like to share a case involving a fast recovery after a forehead lift in a woman in her 50s.

She was a woman in her 50s who visited the clinic because of severe forehead wrinkles and sagging skin in her daily life.

When people come to the hospital because of forehead wrinkles, one thing they often say is, 'Please give me Botox.'

Many people seem to think there is a formula like 'Botox = wrinkle treatment.'

Botox is a medication that weakens muscle strength, so

it can be a good treatment for the crow's feet around the eyes or the glabella, where wrinkles deepen due to facial muscles.

However, forehead wrinkles need to be approached a little differently.

Why do forehead wrinkles form?

Forehead wrinkles are caused not simply by facial-expression wrinkles, but by the skin of the eyelids sagging and covering the eyes, which makes the forehead compensate.

Simply put, when the skin of the eyelids sags, people unconsciously feel discomfort when opening their eyes,

and forehead wrinkles form from the habit of using the forehead muscles to open the eyes.

Therefore, if Botox is injected into the forehead, the wrinkles will smooth out,

but the sagging skin that the forehead muscles were compensating for will become more severe, making it uncomfortable to open the eyes.

This patient had received Botox for forehead wrinkles in the past,

and after that, she suffered for several months because it was uncomfortable to open her eyes, so she said she would never get Botox again.

So during the consultation, I explained the above, and after fully understanding it, she chose a forehead lift.

Preoperative diagnosis

Wrinkles are visible on the forehead, and the overall skin elasticity appears to be reduced.

From the side, wrinkles around the eyes and sagging skin are also visible.

There are many advantages to a forehead lift,

but the greatest advantage is that it lifts the sagging forehead and eye area,

indirectly making the forehead and eyes look younger,

as if they were from 10 to 15 years ago.

There is a lot to say about forehead lifts, but since today’s topic is

'Recovery after a forehead lift,' I will cover the rest

in another post about forehead lifts.

Surgical process

Because it is called a lift,

many people worry that it might be a major surgery.

However, all incisions for a forehead lift are made inside the scalp,

and the incision length is also within 2 cm, just enough for an endoscope to be inserted.

Depending on the condition, only a few small incisions, about 3 to 5, are needed.

Using an endoscope, the forehead, temples, eyebrows, and the eye area are carefully and safely dissected,

then well fixed using threads or Endotine, etc.,

and the surgery is completed by suturing the incision wounds.

The entire process is performed comfortably under sedation anesthesia,

and the surgery time is not very long, within 60 minutes.

Recovery after surgery

One advantage of a forehead lift is that there are no stitches in the visible parts of the face.

And if you have surgery in the morning, you can remove the bandage wrapped around your forehead in the afternoon.

In fact, when I discharge patients, I usually let them leave without a bandage.

Also, even if there are stitches in the scalp, it is fine to wash your hair or shower starting on the third day after surgery.

This photo was taken on the 10th day after surgery while removing the scalp stitches. There is almost no swelling or bruising.

Because the surgery is performed through small incisions inside the scalp, the scar is not visible from the outside at all.

You can also see that the forehead wrinkles have been completely resolved.

Unlike Botox, it does not only smooth wrinkles while making it uncomfortable to open the eyes,

and in fact, it makes opening the eyes easier by resolving the sagging skin.

In the side photo as well, you can see that the wrinkles around the eyes

and the sagging skin have improved significantly.

The patient had expected that if she underwent lift surgery, the recovery period would

be long, so she changed all of her travel plans.

But because recovery was faster than expected and the results were natural,

I remember her saying, "If I had known this, I changed my travel plans for nothing."

Closing remarks...

Today, we looked at the fast recovery course after a forehead lift

in a woman in her mid-50s.

Because of the nuance of the word 'forehead lift,'

I fully understand that it is not easy to decide on this surgery, with concerns such as whether it might be too major or what if recovery is delayed.

However, in reality, the incision is made inside the scalp, where it is hidden by hair,

and the incision length is short, with most of the work performed using an endoscope,

so the recovery period is shorter than expected and there is not much swelling.

In some ways, compared with other surgeries that involve facial incisions,

it is a surgery that does not seem as noticeable after surgery.

I hope this case will be helpful for those who are considering a forehead lift.

Thank you!