Association of Corrugator Supercilii and Procerus Myectomy With Endoscopic Browlift Outcomes.

Importance: Glabellar wrinkling is a critical component of upper facial aging.

Objective: To compare the long-term outcomes on the wrinkle lines of the glabella and forehead following browlifts with vs without corrugator and procerus muscle resection.

Design, setting, and participants: A prospective cohort comparative trial was conducted of 23 patients who underwent browlift procedures by a single surgeon at a single institution (16 with glabellar muscle resection and 7 without muscle resection) between May 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017. All analysis took place between May 1, 2016, and May 14, 2018. The mean follow-up period was 16 months (range, 12-21 months). Sixteen of the 23 patients underwent a browlift with muscle resection procedure alone or in combination with other facial rejuvenation procedures to the brow, midface, jowl, and neck. Four of the 23 patients underwent browlifts only, and 19 had browlifts with other procedures. Seven of the 23 patients had browlift procedures without muscle resection and were designated as controls.

Interventions: Endoscopic browlift surgery was performed either with procerus and corrugator muscle resection or without muscle resection.

Main outcomes and measures: Neutral gaze and dynamic photographs of the upper face obtained preoperatively and after the 1-year postoperative mark were reviewed and scored in a blinded fashion by 2 physicians not affiliated with the study team using a modified Fitzpatrick Wrinkle Assessment score (FWA; from 0 [no wrinkling] to 5 [deep wrinkling with redundant skin]).

Results: The 23 study patients had a mean age of 60 years (range, 48-74 years); 21 were women, and 2 were men. There was a significant difference between the myectomy and control groups in the 12-month postoperative improvement in dynamic glabellar FWA scores (2.56 vs 1.07, P = .01). There was a difference between the myectomy and control groups in the improvements in resting glabellar FWA scores at 12-month follow-up, but it did not reach statistical significance (1.28 vs 1.00, P = .38). The 12-month postoperative improvements in dynamic (1.19 vs 1.29, P = .86) and resting forehead (1.0 vs 1.1, P = .70) FWA scores were not significantly different.

Conclusions and relevance: In this study, the use of procerus and corrugator myectomy techniques appeared to achieve a superior long-term reduction in glabellar wrinkles vs forehead rejuvenation techniques without muscle resection.

Level of evidence: 3.