Background: To describe the indications, techniques and outcomes of various browlift procedures in a predominantly East-Asian community.
Patients and methods: Retrospective review of patients who underwent browlift procedures performed by 2 oculoplastic surgeons or under their direct supervision, in a tertiary referral hospital in South East Asia from 2002 to 2007.
Results: Forty-six patients (30 female, 16 male) had browlift surgery for 89 sides from 2002 to 2007. Mean follow-up period was 10 months (6 to 44 months). 43 patients had bilateral browlift, 3 patients had unilateral browlift, 2 of whom had underlying facial nerve palsy and one had involutional brow ptosis.
Indications: involutional brow ptosis (42), mitochondrial myopathy (2), and facial palsy (2). Ethnicity of patients: Chinese (40), Indian (4) and Malay (2).
Techniques: direct browlift (18), transblepharoplasty browpexy (6), midforehead lift (3), coronal browlift (2) and pretrichial browlift (4), endoscopic browlift (7), limited incision nonendoscopic browlift (5) and temporal browlift (3). Adjuvant procedures included upper blepharoplasty (26), blepharoptosis correction (4), midface lift (2), upper eyelid entropion correction (1), lacrimal gland fixation (1), and upper lid gold implant (1). Encountered complications included: undercorrection 6 (12%), segmental facial nerve palsy 1(2%), visible scar 2 (5%), paraesthesia 2 (5%), suture granuloma 1 (2%). Overall 94% of our patients were satisfied.
Conclusion: Browlift provides satisfactory results for both patient and surgeon. A comprehensive knowledge and proper surgical technique, along with a thorough discussion with patients about the pros and cons of each procedure are essential to obtain optimal outcomes.