Brow lift surgery has been around for over a half century and numerous techniques have been described in how to perform it. Regardless of the technique used the fundamental approach has been differences in how the technique is applied based on gender. The differences in the shape of the female vs male eyebrow shape is well known and brow lift surgery is designed to either reclaim or enhance the natural eyebrow shape. For women a higher arched eyebrow is preferred over a flatter eyebrow shape for men.
A recent trend or modification of browlift surgery is to try and achieve a ‘cat eye’ look. In this very specific form of brow lifting the tail of the eyebrow has an elevated apex over the lateral canthal line and an upward tilt to the outer corner of the eye. This sounds similar to that of the almond eye except that it has a more dramatic upward sweep of the outer eye and brow.
In the April 2024 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Surgery an article was published on this topic entitled ‘MZ Cat Eye Lifting – A New Cosmetic Procedure for Browlifting ’. In this review paper the authors discuss different brow lifting techniques with focus on the recently popular technique of ‘cat eye lifting’, which is recently coined term for a very specific exaggerated form of brow lifting in females. The specific desired changes of upturned eyes, no visible sclera below the lower iris and the tail of the lateral eyebrow above the outer brow bone are what defines the cat eye look. Surgical techniques to achieve these changes include a lateral canthoplasty, upper blepharoplasty and a temporal brow lift….although there is no uniform consensus of how to consistently apply these techniques to achieve it.
Dr. Barry Eppley
World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon