How is a lip lift different from lip filler?

They solve different problems. Filler adds volume to the body of the lip. A lip lift removes a strip of skin beneath the nose to shorten the distance between nose and lip, so more of the red of your own lip shows. If your lip is long and not thin, filler will make it fuller without making it show more.

Where does the scar go?

In the creases directly beneath the nose, where the anatomy hides it. It is the one real risk of this operation, because it sits in the middle of the face, and it is the reason the closure technique matters as much as the excision does.

What is a corner lip lift?

A separate, smaller excision at the outer corners of the mouth, used when the corners turn down or the lip needs shaping laterally. It can be done with a central lip lift or on its own, and it carries the same considerations about scarring.

Is it done on its own or with other surgery?

Most often alongside a deep plane facelift, since it addresses the central lower third that a lift does not reach. In the right patient it is perfectly reasonable as a standalone procedure.

Am I too young for this?

Age is not the criterion. Some people have had a long upper lip their whole life and it has nothing to do with aging. Others watch the distance from nose to lip lengthen over decades. Both are candidates for the same operation.

Lip Lift | FaceLove

Procedure time: About an hourOperative time
Anesthesia: Oral or IV sedationEither one with local anesthetic
Setting: Our procedure suiteHome the same day
Downtime: About ten daysSutures out at day ten
Results last: Seven to ten years

What actually changed

The skin between the base of the nose and the edge of the upper lip lengthens over time. As it does, the lip rolls slightly inward and less of its red shows. People describe this as their lip getting thinner, and it usually is not: the lip is still there, it is simply being displayed less.

Some people have had a long upper lip since they were young. Same anatomy, same operation, different reason for arriving at it.

A thin lip and a long lip are different complaints. Filler answers one of them. This answers the other.

How I do it

A measured strip of skin is removed from underneath the nose, through an incision that sits in the natural creases there. That shortens the upper lip and rolls a little more of the red into view. The effect on the center of the lower face is out of proportion to how small the operation is.

In some patients I also do a corner lip lift, excising a small amount of tissue along the lip edge toward the corners of the mouth. That is a shaping move, not a lengthening one, and whether you need it is decided by looking at your mouth.

It is most often done at the same time as a deep plane facelift, because a lift does not reach this part of the face. In the right patient it stands perfectly well on its own.

The scar is the whole risk

Bruising, swelling, and rarely a hematoma are all possible, as with any procedure. But the one I actually think about here is a wide or visible scar, because it sits directly under the nose in the middle of your face. There is nowhere to hide it if it heals badly.

The way you get a fine scar there is to make sure the skin is never the thing holding the repair together.

So I close it tensionless: all of the tension goes onto the deeper tissues, and the skin edges are brought together carrying almost none. That is the single technical decision that determines how this operation looks a year later.

Even done that way, a scar can occasionally need further attention — usually laser resurfacing, and rarely a revision. The same applies to a corner lip lift. It is uncommon, and you should still hear it before you decide.

What the ten days look like

The operation takes about an hour. You are sedated for it, either orally or through an IV, and in both cases with local anesthetic. You go home the same day.

Sutures come out at ten days, and that is the marker most patients plan around. Shortly after they are out you can cover the incision line with makeup, which is what makes this an easier recovery to hide than the swelling would suggest.

Who tends to be pleased

Patients who have watched their upper lip lengthen and their lip show diminish, and who want that reversed without anything being added to their face, do very well with this. It is one of the operations patients are most consistently happy with afterward.

If what you actually want is a fuller lip, that is a different conversation, and the answer may be filler or fat. I will tell you which one your anatomy is asking for.

Common questions

How is a lip lift different from lip filler?: They solve different problems. Filler adds volume to the body of the lip. A lip lift removes a strip of skin beneath the nose to shorten the distance between nose and lip, so more of the red of your own lip shows. If your lip is long and not thin, filler will make it fuller without making it show more.
Where does the scar go?: In the creases directly beneath the nose, where the anatomy hides it. It is the one real risk of this operation, because it sits in the middle of the face, and it is the reason the closure technique matters as much as the excision does.
What is a corner lip lift?: A separate, smaller excision at the outer corners of the mouth, used when the corners turn down or the lip needs shaping laterally. It can be done with a central lip lift or on its own, and it carries the same considerations about scarring.
Is it done on its own or with other surgery?: Most often alongside a deep plane facelift, since it addresses the central lower third that a lift does not reach. In the right patient it is perfectly reasonable as a standalone procedure.
Am I too young for this?: Age is not the criterion. Some people have had a long upper lip their whole life and it has nothing to do with aging. Others watch the distance from nose to lip lengthen over decades. Both are candidates for the same operation.

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Showing more of the lip you already have.