Eyebrow lift

Before the operation

On the day of surgery, you should come to the clinic without make-up. If you have certain medicines, you can take them as normal unless otherwise agreed with the doctor. A light meal before the operation is allowed. You cannot drive yourself after the operation. Make sure you are accompanied. If you are present 15 minutes before the operation starts, that is early enough. You can pay on the day of surgery by debit card, credit card or cash.

The operation

The operation is almost always performed under local anaesthesia. To promote optimal healing, we advise against smoking from 3 weeks before to 3 weeks after the operation. If you take blood-thinning medication, you should stop taking it 10 days before the operation. The doctor will discuss this with you in advance.

Prior to surgery, the doctor will mark the desired new eyebrow position. Your face will be cleaned with disinfectant and sterile cloths will be placed on the face. From then on, you will not be allowed to touch the face. After this, the skin is numbed with an injection. Once the skin is numb, the eyebrow is loosened and reattached with stitches and placed in its new position. Suture patches are placed around the eyes, which should remain in place for just under a week until the sutures are removed.

Long-term effect to be expected

One hundred per cent symmetry cannot be guaranteed. A slight asymmetry in the beginning is normal. For most people, over time, the difference will disappear. With an eyebrow surgery, your eyebrows will initially appear slightly too high. However, the effect is temporary and after a few weeks they will settle into their final position. An eyelid correction or eyebrow lift has a long-term effect, but does not stop the final process of ageing. Depending on your skin type, skin quality and whether or not you smoke, a long-term result can be expected that usually lasts about 10 years.

Aftercare eyebrow lift

After surgery, cooled gauze and so-called “ice goggles” are placed on your eyes. This cooling reduces swelling and bruising of the eyes. As soon as you feel well enough, you may go home. It is wise to continue cooling at home for several hours (15 minutes every hour). This can be done in several ways. It can be done using the “ice goggles”, pieces of ice or frozen peas in a plastic bag (do not put them directly on the eyes but with a gauze in between).

Directly after the operation

Because skin has been removed from the eyelids, more light may enter the eyes. It is therefore advisable to bring sunglasses for the journey home. Even if it is raining or cloudy weather. You cannot participate in traffic yourself after the procedure. In the first 24 to 48 hours, the eyes may feel tight and sometimes irritating. This is due to the swelling. Even with proper cooling, the eyelids will swell slightly. After about three days, this will lessen by itself. In case of pain, you may take two 500 mg Paracetamol tablets (preferably not Ibuprofen) up to four times a day. During the week of surgery, you should take care not to bend or lift. This will prevent tension on the eyelids. Take it easy, especially in the first few days.

Use an extra pillow when sleeping. After a week, the sutures and stitches are removed. This is a minor and non-sensitive procedure (no anaesthesia is needed here). Two weeks after the operation, you can apply make-up to your eyelids again, unless your doctor instructs otherwise. Scars may be a little red at first, but they will hardly be visible after a few weeks or months.

Care:

– Cool only with ice goggles.
– Stay out of the sun and wear sunglasses for two weeks.
– Once the stitches are out, apply sunscreen with a high SPF factor.
– Use extra pillow when sleeping.
– Do not use make-up on eyelids for two weeks.
– Do not let the eyelids get wet.
– Leave the sutures in place for one week.
– The skin may itch (healing), do not touch or scratch.
– Do not lift heavy things for the first few days.
– Do not play sports for two weeks.

When to contact?

In case of unilateral (severe) pain. Some pain is part of it but especially in case of a pronounced difference, it is good to let us know. In addition, in case of severe swelling of one eye, loss of vision (i.e. not slightly blurred but really reduced vision) and in case of post-operative haemorrhage. Again, if it is really bleeding, not if there is a little drop after. And of course in all other cases where you don’t trust it.

Reachability in case of complications

You will be given your doctor’s telephone number with your discharge notice after the operation. In the first instance, please call the branch where you were operated in.

Insurance Eyebrow lift

Much has changed in recent years in terms of medical reimbursement of eyelid surgery by health insurance companies. From 1 January 2005, for instance, the eyelid lift is considered cosmetic surgery by health insurers. Initially, health insurers were still willing to assume the cost of an eyelid lift of the upper eyelids if there was a limitation of the visual field.

From 1 January 2011, this arrangement also disappeared from the basic health insurance scheme. Currently, eyelid surgery is only reimbursed if it is congenital. However, this is almost never the case in practice. By definition, a lower eyelid correction is not reimbursed by the health insurer. Currently, you must have supplementary insurance to be eligible for Medical Indication and thus reimbursement for an eyelid lift, see below.

So, even in the case where you are looking against the eyelids, an eyelid correction is generally not covered by your health insurance company. This comes across as very unfair, but health insurers believe that you should have had an eyelid correction earlier, at a younger age, (and at your own expense) for cosmetic reasons. Unless you have supplementary insurance for an eyelid correction, you will have to pay for the eyelid correction yourself. A referral from your GP to the hospital does not change this either.

Additional insurance

Additional insurance policies exist only for eyelid surgery on the upper eyelids. This usually requires you to meet the criteria set by your insurer. These are usually included in your policy conditions.

Quality and safety eyebrow lift

Quality is at the heart of Eyelift.nl. There is a formal quality system, the qualities of doctors and staff are structurally tested and developed, and regular quality checks are carried out.

Naturally, all treatment facilities meet the requirements set by the government for this purpose and Eyelift.nl complies with the legislation relevant to it on all fronts. In addition to our own quality system and the dedication of our employees, Dutch legislation also provides a quality guarantee. Eyelift.nl complies with all laws and regulations imposed from the government.

Care Institutions Quality Act

This act requires clinics to pay systematic and structural attention to quality. A clinic’s policy must be aimed at providing responsible care. This means that care must be effective and efficient, patient-oriented and tailored to real needs. Every clinic is obliged to operate a quality system and issue an annual quality report.

Individual Healthcare Professions Act (BIG)

This act regulates professional practice and aims to promote and monitor the quality of professional practice and protect patients against incompetent and negligent actions of professionals. To this end, the law includes safeguards such as title protection, registration, authorisation of reserved procedures and disciplinary law. At Eyelift.nl, this means that only BIG registered doctors certified by the European Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery work.

Medical Treatment Agreement Act

This law regulates a number of rights and obligations of the client and the doctor. The right to information about treatment is one of the most important. The doctor is obliged to inform you about the nature of treatment, the rules of life to be observed after treatment, the possible risks, alternatives and the expected results. Furthermore, this act describes, among other things, the right to inspect the medical file, the required consent for treatment and the right to privacy and confidentiality.

Healthcare Sector Client Complaint Act

This act requires clinics to make formal arrangements for handling complaints. A complaint may be submitted to the complaints committee against a healthcare provider about conduct by him or persons working for him. The committee handles the complaint on the basis of a complaint regulation that must be made available to the patient. Eyelift.nl has joined the complaints scheme of the UMC St Radboud in order to offer and guarantee optimal quality through Enface kliniek.