Brow lift practice in receding hairlines: A retrospective comparison of brow lift techniques

Introduction: Assessing facial aesthetic surgery outcomes often relies on expert opinion, which inherently introduces bias. This study examined the use of artificial intelligence to objectively compare novel and standard brow lift techniques.

Methods: Fifty-nine patients who underwent brow lift surgery between 2006 and 2020 were divided into two groups: Group A (n = 47) underwent a standard brow lift, while Group B (n = 12) received our novel technique. Patients were excluded if they underwent a simultaneous rhytidectomy or if their images were unreadable by the software. Artificial intelligence analysis examined emotion and action unit functioning, which was then correlated to manual measurements of brow position.

Results: Group A demonstrated an increase in happiness from 1.6% to 9.5% (p = 0.004), a decrease in sadness from 14.9% to 8.0% (p = 0.06), and a decrease in anger from 14.8% to 5.7% (p = 0.007). Group B experienced an increase in happiness from 5.2% to 12.6% (p = 0.18), a decrease in sadness from 18.9% to 10.3% (p = 0.1), and a decrease in anger from 26.4% to 10.9% (p = 0.07). Group A exhibited elevation in brow position by 2.3-3.7 mm (p < 0.05) and a decrease in brow lowerer action unit functioning from 17.8% to 3.8% (p = 0.0005). Group B exhibited elevation in brow position by 2.78-5.05 mm (p < 0.05) and a decrease in brow lowerer action unit functioning from 35%-8.4% (p = 0.011).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated similar efficacy in the examined brow lift techniques for causing positive emotional changes while elevating the brow. This objective comparison demonstrates the utility of artificial intelligence in assessing facial surgery outcomes.