Author Topic: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.  (Read 6108 times)

pwurtz

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Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« on: December 15, 2011, 08:10:10 pm »
I am scheduled for a brow lift in just a few days.  I decided to go for it a couple of months back and purposely didn't read much about it.  Well, I read some things on the internet tonight and now I'm scared.  My doctor is also doing some nasal work to open my nasal passage on the affected side.  I'm having both brows done.  Insurance is only covering the left side, but we're paying $1900 for the right side.  We were told this usually gives better results.  I am scheduled for 5 1/2 hours of surgery, but I'm assuming that's more than will be needed.  I was told that I can spend the night at the hospital or come home if I'd rather.  My doctor said stitches would come out in about a week.  He said most people return to work in a week, but I'm a teacher on Christmas break, so I'll have a full two weeks.  After reading discussion boards tonight, I'm worried that two weeks won't be enough. 

Please let me know what to expect if you've had these procedures done. 

Brewers7

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Re: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2011, 10:48:13 pm »
I had a single brow lift.  It took about 20 minutes start to finish and recovery was a breeze.
Translab surgery 12/15/2008 followed by CSF leakage repair and 3 additional surgeries for MRSA of the brain (NOT typical) SSD,  facial and vocal cord paralysis, numerous reconstructive surgeries, Transear 12/2010

micca82

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Re: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2011, 10:16:24 pm »
Hi, I'm still struggling with my facial palsy. Can someone please enlighten me on this whole brow lift surgery? Why are you getting it? It sounds like something I'd be interested in. My palsy side's eye doesn't open as wide as my good one, and my eyes look uneven when my face is at ease. I really want my eye size and shape to look more even at ease. Would this surgery help it? Would the surgery cause difficulty in closing my eye all the way? I have Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield--would they cover this surgery at all? If someone can give me some info, it'd be great!

Thank you-
MRI found 5.1cm AN on left on 3/18/11: age of 28
Surgery 4/5/11 with dr.Tamargo and dr. Francis. @ johns Hopkins
Whole tumor removed, facial nerves in tact, but unresponsive
Platinum eyelid weight on 4/6
Left facial paralysis, numbness, double vision

God is the Healer

Kaybo

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Re: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2011, 10:36:20 pm »
I had a brow lift when I had the T3. I also had to pay for my "good side".  The lady at the office really encouraged me to pursue it when I didn't want to pay the extra out of my own pocket (I'm kind of a cheapie!) - she said she just wanted the best for me & thought I'd really regret getting all that work and NOT getting that done. This office/Dr was incredible & really concerned about the best for the patient - not making a buck!  Anyway, I think you will be FINE with 2 weeks off. I had some complications but that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the brow part of the surgery. The ONLY problem I had that could remotely be associated with the brow part was just that the "tube" irritated my throat & that bothered me a couple of days. I flew to Baltimore (from Texas) for everything - I stayed there a week& then returned home no problems. Again, I don't think there was anything from the brow part that raised any concerns. Even though I know I tend to be overly positive, I am also a realist & I would tell you the truth so you would be prepared!!  :)

;D
Translab 12/95@Houston Methodist(Baylor College of Medicine)for "HUGE" tumor-no size specified
25 yrs then-14 hour surgery-stroke
12/7 Graft 1/97
Gold Weight x 5
SSD
Facial Paralysis-R(no movement or feelings in face,mouth,eye)
T3-3/08
Great life!

Brewers7

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Re: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2011, 12:40:04 pm »
Micca82,
     I have Blue Cross and it covered my AN side brow lift.  I too have significant facial paralysis, although my facial nerve is anatomically intact.  A brow lift is a "static" surgery.  In layman's terms, that means that it does not repair nerves or muscular problems but it should make things look better at rest.  I notice that you are not a year postop yet, so you might want to discuss this with your neurologist and/or surgeons.  FYI, I began to get some facial movement at 18 months.  My brow lift was done in the office with only local anesthesia.
Translab surgery 12/15/2008 followed by CSF leakage repair and 3 additional surgeries for MRSA of the brain (NOT typical) SSD,  facial and vocal cord paralysis, numerous reconstructive surgeries, Transear 12/2010

pwurtz

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Re: Brow Lift-What should I expect? I'm scared.
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2011, 08:30:23 pm »
I'm the original poster.  I had the endoscopic brow lift on Monday.  It's now Saturday.  I also had some nasal work done.  It seems the left side of my nasal cavity had caved in since my acoustic neuroma surgery 7 1/2 years ago.  The only surgical problem I had was low oxygen levels following surgery.  They kept me in recovery for about 4 hours, but they made me spend the night because my oxygen levels were still too low.  That first night was pretty awful.  I was bandaged up with gauze loosely wrapped all around my head.  My nose had two plugs that night, so breathing was pretty difficult.  I also had an IV and an oxygen mask to complicate matters.  They removed the gauze on Tuesday morning.  I had been warned by friends that this would be horrible, but it wasn't too bad.  They had used nonstick gauze and it was coated with Vaseline.  I was surprised at how normal I looked.  My nose was quite swollen, but otherwise I looked pretty good.  I headed home and the swelling and bruising kicked in over the next 48 hours.  By Tuesday night, I called my surgeon to ask if the swelling I was experiencing was normal.  I was afraid my eyes would swell shut over night.  I was told that I could ice them and that swelling shut would be unusual.  I looked horrible, but they did not swell shut.  I continued icing that next day and night.  I woke up Thursday to find that the swelling was down considerably.  My nose is crusty and I cannot blow it, so breathing is still not easy.  I can use saline spray and that helps some.  My brow lift required 5 incisions in my hairline.  They are all about 1 inch long and are stapled.  I have an appointment to have my staples removed on Tuesday.  The pain has been quite minimal.  I rated it a 3 out of 10 most of the time.  My hair has been gross. They allowed me to gently wash it, but I'm supposed to keep the staples covered with Vaseline, so it looks oily all the time.  Those first few days, it was filled with dried blood.  My brows look pretty good at this point, but it's hard to give a definite opinion just yet.  Before the surgery, my brows looked even at times and very uneven at other times.  My left eye has always been squinty since my A.N. surgery, and even somewhat before.  The eye still seems squinty, but better than before.  I am bravely attaching some photos from those first few days.  Photo 1 is the morning after surgery.  Photo 2 is the morning after surgery after gauze was removed.  Photo 3 is day 2 days after surgery.  Photo 4 is 4 days after surgery.  Feel free to write with questions.  I'll try to repost with an update in a week or so.  By the way, insurance (Anthem) paid for the nasal work and the left brow.  We paid about $1,800 to have the right brow done also.  It was easier getting the nasal work covered, but my vision was affected by my droopy brow so that helped get coverage.  The field of vision seems somewhat improved, but not fully.  I'm hoping the results will improve as all swelling goes away. Okay, I can't figure out how to add attachments.  I click on add attachments and it's not working.  I can email them to you if you're interested. 
« Last Edit: December 24, 2011, 08:31:54 pm by pwurtz »