www.PRSJournal.com 282e
T
he “temporal lift by galeapexy” as described
by Alain Fogli
1
has for over a decade been
the perfect addition to any short-scar verti-
cal face-lifting technique, and specifically to the
minimal access cranial suspension lift technique
described by the senior authors (A.M.V., P.L.T.).
2
Not only is Fogli’s technique easy and reproduc-
ible, but also the concept of lifting the tail of the
eyebrow rather than the whole eyebrow makes
more sense aesthetically.
Similar to most “minimally invasive” or “short-
scar” techniques, the temporal lift had to endure
early criticism about efficacy and estimated lon-
gevity. As early adopters of the technique, albeit
with some modifications, we have the experience
that both efficacy and longevity of the Fogli tech-
nique are at least comparable to those of more
traditional brow-lifting techniques.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
A retrospective review was conducted looking
for patients who underwent a modified Fogli tech-
nique of temporal lifting performed by the senior
authors. A follow-up time of more than 5 years was
registered in 151 patients, 34 of whom agreed to
participate in the study for clinical evaluation.
The data of these 34 cases were reviewed to
evaluate long-term results. An assessment of the
clinical preoperative and short- and long-term
postoperative photographs was requested from a
panel consisting of five lay persons and five plas-
tic surgeons.
Photographs of the situation preoperatively,
1 year postoperatively, and 5 years postopera-
tively were assessed. The panel was requested to
score for two criteria: eyebrow position and lateral
hooding. Each criterion had to be scored from 1
to 4, where 1 was worse than preoperatively, 2 was
no difference, 3 was somewhat better, and 4 was
markedly better.
Surgical Technique
Because we had adopted the Fogli tech-
nique, this method was applied to a great major-
ity of patients undergoing minimal access cranial
Disclosure: The authors have no financial interest
to declare in relation to the content of this article.
Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000001070
Alexis M. Verpaele, M.D.
Patrick L. Tonnard, M.D.
Moustapha Hamdi, Ph.D.
Ghent and Brussels, Belgium
Background: The temporal lift by galeapexy is a short-scar lifting of the lateral
third of the eyebrow and temporal region described in 2003 by Alain Fogli.
The senior authors (A.M.V., P.L.T.) have been early adopters of this technique,
albeit with some modifications.
Methods: The technique was used in 923 cases, of which 20 percent were per-
formed as an isolated procedure and 80 percent were performed in combina-
tion with a minimal access cranial suspension lift.
Results: Over 8 years of experience has proven the technique to have good
reliability, and to be predictable and safe. Patients with follow-up of 5 years or
more were reviewed, and showed a marked improvement of both lateral hood-
ing and eyebrow position in more than 90 percent of cases, with a relapse rate
of less than 10 percent after 5 years. The complication rate was below 5 percent.
Conclusion: Both surgeon satisfaction and patient satisfaction with this tech-
nique are high. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 135: 282e, 2015.)
From the Coupure Centre for Plastic Surgery; and Brussels
University Hospital.
Received for publication January 6, 2014; accepted May 29,
2014.
Long-Term Use of the Fogli Temporal
Lift Technique
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COSMETIC