E n d o s c o p i c Brow Li f t

James E. Zins, MD, FACSa,*, Demetrius M. Coombs, MDb

KEYWORDS
 Endoscopic brow lift  Ptosis  Facial rejuvenation

KEY POINTS
 Description of the physiology of brow ptosis.
 Mechanism of endoscopic correction of brow ptosis.
 Detailed description of surgical technique.
 Pitfalls and flaws in endoscopic technique leading to adverse outcomes.

Video content accompanies this article at http://www.plasticsurgery.theclinics.com.

INTRODUCTION It is very easy to over elevate the medial brow us-

ing the endoscopic technique and it is very easy to
Before 1991, the coronal brow lift was the gold place the lateral brow too low. The solution to over
standard for the correction of brow ptosis. Howev- elevation of the medial brow is to preserve at least
er, the operation was not without postoperative 2 cm of periosteal attachments in the midline
complications and adverse sequelae including glabellar region. The solution to obtaining
long-term numbness, pruritis, alopecia of the adequate lateral brow elevation is wide subperios-
scalp, and scar deformity.1 teal release, which includes release of the superior
Vasconez and Isse independently introduced temporal line, the temporal ligamentous adhesion,
the endoscopic brow lift in the early 1990s. Vasco- and the lateral orbital rim as far as the zygomatic
nez’s approach was a subgaleal one. Isse’s pro- arch.
cedure highlighted depressor muscle alteration
to gain the surgical result.2–4 2. The surprised look
After the introduction of the endoscopic brow,
the initial enthusiasm was followed by a more With aging of the upper face, the medial brow
recent decrease in the number of endoscopic pro- often elevates due to static frontalis activation,
cedures performed. The reasons for this were whereas the lateral brow descends often below
multifactorial. They included reports of dissatisfac- the level of the medial brow due to the lack of pres-
tion with the results, the quality and longevity of ence of elevator muscle laterally. This results in
the operation, as well as the emergence of less hooding of the brow laterally. Over elevation of
technically challenging procedures such as the the medial brow may lead to the so-called sur-
isolated temporal lift, the transpalpebral corruga- prised look and is harmful to brow esthetics. How-
tor resection, and the so-called chemical brow ever, even when over elevated, if brow shape is
lift using botulinum toxin.5–10 maintained, over elevation is relatively well toler-
ated. This highlights the modern dictum of upper
face esthetics, which emphasizes maintenance
TECHNICAL ASPECTS
or improvement of brow shape is more important
plasticsurgery.theclinics.com

1. Over elevation of the brow than brow elevation (Fig. 1).

a
Section of Cosmetic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Department of Plastic Surgery, Desk A 60, 9500 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44195, USA; b Cleveland Clinic Department of Plastic Surgery, Desk A 60, 9500 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected]

Clin Plastic Surg 49 (2022) 357–363

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358 Zins & Coombs

Fig. 1. Clinical photographs of a 61-year-old female Fitzpatrick I patient with brow ptosis and a high forehead
who presented for facial rejuvenation (left). The same patient 3 months postoperatively following extended
SMAS facelift and endoscopic brow lift using cortical tunnel technique for bony fixation of superficial temporal
fascia to deep temporal fascia for temporal fixation (right). The early postoperative view shows over-correction
and a surprised look.

PHYSIOLOGY OF BROW CORRECTION there is a broad retaining ligament or adhesion be-

tween the galea and periosteum known as the
The endoscopic brow lift gains its effect from a temporal ligamentous adhesion. This along with
very different mechanism than the open coronal the superior temporal line or septum and the su-
lift. The coronal brow lift owes its effect to a purely praorbital ligamentous adhesion need to be
mechanical mechanism. As a general rule, 2.5 cm released subperiosteally to gain lateral brow
of scalp excision results in 1 cm of brow elevation. elevation.
The endoscopic brow lift, on the other hand, owes The inferior temporal septum runs from the su-
its efficacy to an interplay between the elevators perior lateral orbital rim to the posterior zygomatic
and depressor muscles of the forehead. When arch. Above this line, there are no important struc-
the depressors of the brow are weakened, the el- tures. Below this line lie the sentinel vein and the
evators work relatively unopposed.4,11,12 This is frontal branch of the facial nerve. The sentinel
combined with wide subperiosteal release of the vein lies 1 cm lateral and superior to the lateral
superior temporal line, the temporal ligamentous canthus. The frontal branch lies 1 cm superior
adhesion, and the lateral orbital periosteum and lateral to the vein. Therefore, once the vein
(Fig. 2). As no skin is excised in the forehead has been visualized, the frontal branch has been
with the endoscopic brow lift, it is this alteration passed (see Fig. 2).
of muscles and periosteal release that gains the ef-
fect rather than mechanical pull.
TECHNIQUE
LONGEVITY OF THE ENDOSCOPIC
The key to success with regard to technique is
TECHNIQUE
maintaining the proper anatomic planes. This
Although some controversy remains regarding the means dissecting on the deep temporal fascia
long-term maintenance of the endoscopic brow, and the superficial layer of the deep temporal fas-
multiple studies document the statistically signifi- cia in the temple to the lateral orbital rim laterally
cant correction of brow ptosis long-term13–17 and subperiosteally at the level of the superior
(Fig. 3). More recently, however, it has become lateral and lateral orbital rim medially.
apparent that success in brow lifting should not
be predicated on brow elevation alone but rather Operative Steps
it should focus on maintaining or improving brow
shape. The brow lift restores the loss of definition 1. Five incisions are made. One incision is made in
that occurs with aging. This loss of definition of the right and one incision in the left temple on a
the superior lateral supraorbital rim cannot be ob- line from the alar base through the lateral
tained by upper lid blepharoplasty alone (Fig. 4). canthus. Three or 4 incisions are made in the
scalp several centimeters into the hairline.
ANATOMY One incision is made in the right and one inci-
sion in the left lateral forehead scalp on a verti-
Several critical structures require highlighting cal line from the lateral third of the brow. One
along the lateral aspect of the supraorbital rim, incision is then made in the midline of the

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 Endoscopic Brow Lift 359

Fig. 2. Anatomic illustration of lateral brow structures

including the inferior temporal septum (ITS), superior
temporal septum (STS), temporal ligamentous adhe-
sion (TLA), and supraorbital ligamentous adhesion
(SLA). (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic Center for Medical
Art & Photography, Cleveland, OH.). (Reprinted with
permission, Cleveland Clinic Foundation 2022. All
Rights Reserved.)

forehead scalp skin or alternatively 2 parame-

dian incisions are made (Fig. 5).
2. The temporal incision is made first. Dissection
is taken through the superficial temporal fascia
in the deep temporal fascia. Deep temporal fas-
cia is clearly recognized as pure white. The su-
perior temporal line is then released posterior to
anterior. It is important to dissect subperios-
teally immediately medial to the superior tem-
poral line as the deep branch of the Fig. 3. Clinical photographs of a 61-year-old female
Fitzpatrick I patient with brow ptosis and a high fore-
supraorbital nerve lies 1 to 2 cm medial to the
head who presented for facial rejuvenation (left). The
line between periosteum and galea. Injury to same patient 3 months postoperatively following
this nerve can result in numbness or pruritis of extended SMAS facelift and endoscopic brow lift us-
the scalp postoperatively. The temporal liga- ing cortical tunnel technique for bony fixation of su-
mentous adhesion and the lateral orbital rim perficial temporal fascia to deep temporal fascia for
are then released subperiosteally into the mid- temporal fixation; the early postoperative view shows
face. This allows for not only brow release but over-correction and a surprised look (center). The
also improvement in the midface. As all lateral same patient now 68 years old and nearly 7 years
soft tissue structures are thus released except postoperatively; long-term follow-up demonstrates
for the deep head of the lateral canthal tendon, stability of the results (right).
this results in a canthopexy type effect (Video arcus marginalis is released in its entirety. The
1). step creates brow elevation (Video 2).
3. Forehead dissection
4. Corrugator and procerus resection
The forehead is released subperiosteally through
the 3 to 4 forehead incisions sequentially. The sub- The corrugator muscles and if indicated the pro-
periosteal release extends down to the supraor- cerus are resected. The end point of corrugator
bital rims. Two centimeters of periosteal resection is skeletonization of the supraorbital
attachment is spared medially at the glabella to nerves and visualization of subcutaneous fat
prevent over elevation of the medial brow. The (Fig. 6).

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360 Zins & Coombs

Fig. 4. Preoperative photograph of a 51-year-old woman with facial aging, brow ptosis, and lower lid bags (left).
Postoperative photographs of the same patient at 2 years following endoscopic brow lift, lower eyelid blepha-
roplasty, and extended SMAS facelift.

5. Bone fixation This includes Endotines, Mitek suture anchors,

and fibrin glue. The literature supports superior fix-
Bone fixation is accomplished using the cortical ation with the cortical tunnel technique when
tunnel technique. The tunnel is placed through the compared with fibrin glue.11 When using the
posterior aspect of the lateral forehead incision. cortical tunnel, Jones and Grover found that per-
This is very rapid and safe. The tunnel can be manent sutures were more effective than absorb-
made very superficially. A bone cut approximately able sutures with regard to longevity. Finally,
2 mm deep with a very narrow bone bridge or bone multiple authors maintain that broad subperiosteal
island between the anterior and posterior tunnel release is more important with regard to correction
using a side cutting burr (Video 3). than bone fixation. In fact, several authors ques-
6. Tail of the brow elevation tion the need for bone fixation at all and have
demonstrated similar results with and without
This is accomplished by suturing the superficial bony fixation.15–17
temporal fascia to the deep temporal fascia in a
superior and posterior direction with 1-2 sutures PATIENT SELECTION
of 2-0 PDS (polydioxanone) suture (Video 4).
The best candidates for endo brow lift are those
ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF FIXATION with short or normal forehead height, a flat fore-
head, and those with no receding hairline and min-
A variety of other devices have been used for fixa- imal true medial skin excess. Conversely, poor
tion purposes in addition to the cortical tunnel. candidates are those with a convex forehead,

Fig. 5. Clinical photographs depicting the incisions for endoscopic brow lift. The temporal incision is made on a
line drawn from the alar base to the lateral canthus within the temporal hairline. The lateral forehead incision is
made on a vertical line from the lateral two-thirds of the brow to correspond to the apex of the brow. The medial
incision is for access to the corrugator/procerus muscles. Please note that the incisions are made within the hair-
line. Marks on the skin are for demonstrative purposes only.

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 Endoscopic Brow Lift 361

from asymmetry due to frontalis activation due to

unilateral upper eyelid ptosis. Patients with asym-
metry due to unilateral upper eyelid ptosis will
often have a high supratarsal fold and crease. In
such cases, upper eyelid ptosis repair is indicated.
3. Over elevation
The surprised look results from a combination of
overly aggressive medial subperiosteal release,
release of the medial depressors, and/or overly
aggressive lateral brow elevation. If noted, early
fixation can be adjusted.
4. Under elevation of the lateral brow
Fig. 6. Intraoperative endoscopic view of a partially
resected left corrugator muscle (denoted by the white Inadequate lateral brow elevation results from
arrow) with supratrochlear branches skeletonized insufficient subperiosteal release and requires
(right aspect of the image). reoperation if significant.
5. Displeasing eyebrow arch
high hairline, deep rhytids, thick skin, and true
medial skin excess (Fig. 7). Unattractive brow shape is generally due to
excessive medial brow subperiosteal release and
inadequate lateral release.
TRAPS AND FLAWS
1. Early recurrence of glabellar lines QUALITY OF STUDIES
This occurs because of inadequate glabellar mus- There are no prospective randomized studies
cle removal and is prevented by the removal of all comparing open and endoscopic techniques.
muscle between bone and subcutaneous fat. Further few studies have compared long-term out-
2. Asymmetry comes of the 2 techniques in detail. Finally, few
studies use validated subjective and objective
True asymmetry needs to be differentiated from grading systems to assess brow shape long-
asymmetry due to upper eyelid ptosis. True asym- term.17–19
metry is structural and should be noted preopera- The best study addressing long-term results in
tively. Differential fixation is indicated. It is a endoscopic brow lifting using validated tools was
reasonable rule of thumb to mention to the patient the Jones and Lo report.19 They found statistically
that if there is asymmetry preoperatively, there significant brow elevation of 3.5 to 4.7 mm at all 5
may be some degree postoperatively as well. points measured medial to lateral across the up to
This true asymmetry should be differentiated 1 year. At 5 years, statistically significant elevation

Fig. 7. Preoperative photographs of a 63-year-old female with brow ptosis, corrugator hyperactivity, and deep
nasolabial folds presenting for facial rejuvenation (left). The same patient 14 months postoperatively following
facelift, endoscopic brow lift with complete corrugator resection, bone fixation using cortical tunnels, and fixa-
tion of the superficial temporal fascia to the deep temporal fascia laterally.

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362 Zins & Coombs

was found at all 5 points again except for the most DISCLOSURE
lateral point on the brow (brow tail). This point had
reverted to preoperative baseline. Furthermore, All authors have nothing to disclose.
the highest point of the brow was at the medial
limbus rather than the lateral limbus. The authors SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
hypothesized that the temporal fixation of superfi-
cial temporal fascia to deep temporal fascia was Supplementary data related to this article can be
not strong enough to overcome the depressor ef- found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cps.2022.
fect of the lateral orbicularis oculi. 02.003.

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