A heavy brow reads as tired, or angry, no matter your mood — and it's the reason some people are disappointed by eyelid surgery alone. Repositioning the brow restores the arch and opens the eye from above.
These figures are typical ranges, not a promise. Anesthesia, operating time, recovery and how results settle vary with your anatomy, your health history and the plan you and Dr. Swenson agree on. Your individual details are confirmed at consultation.
The brow descends with time, and as it does it pushes the upper-lid skin down ahead of it. Lifting and securing the brow at its proper height relieves that crowding — and often makes the eyelid look better without touching the eyelid.
A neurotoxin can raise the brow a few millimeters by relaxing the muscles that pull it down — a real effect, a modest one, and it lasts a few months. Surgery repositions the brow itself, by more, permanently. If Botox has been giving you the effect you want and you're tired of maintaining it, that's often the moment to consider this.
Here's the test people can't do for themselves: lift your brow gently with a finger. If the heaviness largely resolves, the brow is the problem. If the lid still looks hooded, it's the lid — or both. Getting this wrong is the most common reason someone has eyelid surgery and remains unsatisfied. It takes a surgeon ten seconds to tell you which one you are.
Brow lift or eyelid surgery?
Do the finger test, then have someone look. Often the answer is both, in one anesthetic.
Will I look surprised?
That comes from over-elevation. The goal is a natural resting brow position, not a raised one.
How is it different from a Botox brow lift?
Degree and duration. Botox gives millimeters for months; surgery gives more, and keeps it.
Will my forehead be numb?
Some temporary numbness or altered sensation is common and typically resolves.
When can I go back to work?
Most patients within about a week to ten days.
A surgical consultation with Dr. Swenson is $75. That's an hour of a surgeon's attention, not a sales appointment with a coordinator. To be straightforward with you: the fee does not apply toward the cost of a procedure. Some practices credit it — we don't, and we'd rather you know that now than find out at checkout. Vue does not bill insurance, so all procedures, including those done for functional reasons, are self-pay. You'll get an exact quote before you commit to anything.