Lip lift surgery enhances the appearance of the upper lip by shortening the length between the nostril sill (lowest part of the nose) and the upper lip. Surgery can be performed under local anaesthetic or at the same time as another procedure like breast augmentation or breast reduction. Elongation of the distance from the nose to the upper lip is a natural part of ageing. The best outcomes from lip lip surgery occur with conservative skin excision (removal of small amounts of skin) as the final scarring is better and the chance of altering the shape of the lower part of the nose is reduced.
Case 1. Photos showing appearance before and after lip lift surgery. Thanks to my patient for giving permission to show these images which show a natural looking outcome from lip lift surgery and excellent scarring even at this early point (6 weeks post op) in recovery.
Lip lift surgery procedure
Mr Morritt most frequently performs surgery with the patient awake as a daycase procedure (patient goes home the same day as surgery). The patient is marked before lip lift surgery commences. Local anaesthetic injections (like at the dentist) are placed to numb the surgical site. The skin is removed from the lip. Some self dissolving sutures are placed under the skin (these help provide better scarring). The top lay of the skin is closed with sutures. Patients are advised to apply vaseline to the wound following lip lift surgery.
Sutures are removed after 5-7 days. Mr Morritt then advises patients to start using silicone scar gel (e.g. Dermatix) on the scar from 3 weeks after lip lift surgery. It is advisable to try and eat a ‘soft’ diet after surgery as the mouth can sometimes be tight in the first week or two following surgery.
Risk of lip lift surgery
Poor scarring
Bleeding
Infection
Altered sensation
Results don’t last forever – patients still age naturally. The surgery can be repeated if necessary
Asymmetry
Alteration of nostril sill
Healing problems
Cosmetic unhappiness