Birmingham, Ala. — Open browlifts (OBL) generally result in more early forehead and scalp numbness than endoscopic browlifts (EBL), but the end result seems to be about the same after 18 months, HealthDay News reports.
Researchers from the Rousso Facial Plastic Surgery Clinic in Birmingham conducted a prospective study of 21 patients undergoing OBL and EBL to compare objective and subjective loss of forehead and scalp sensation at various post-procedure time points.
A retrospective analysis also was completed of 58 patients followed up at six months or more postoperatively.
Researchers found that the OBL group had significantly greater objective loss of sensation from one to two weeks to 12 to 14 weeks after surgery, and greater subjective sensory loss from four to six weeks to 12 to 14 weeks. These differences were no longer present at 24 to 26 weeks after surgery.
Group differences were also seen in the patients enrolled retrospectively, with the OBL group having greater sensory loss than the EBL group at six to 18 months; however, the differences disappeared after the 18-month point.
“We observed that one to two weeks after OBL or EBL, all individuals will experience significant subjective and objective numbness of both their forehead and scalp,” the authors wrote. “Even so, the scalps of those undergoing OBL are objectively more insensate than of those undergoing EBL. Despite this objective difference, those undergoing OBL did not necessarily feel more forehead or scalp numbness than those in the EBL group.”
