Yesterday I did a lip lift. My patient was a young woman, which is unusual for this procedure. Most women that need a lip lift are older, and they have noticed the upper lip getting “thinner” as they age. Since the “red” part of the lip is getting thinner, they assume this is the part that needs to be augmented.
So when a woman comes to me for lip enhancement, most of the time she is thinking about lip fillers, whether it be fat, collagen, restylane or one of the many other fillers available nowadays. With lip fillers, the trouble comes when the surgeon “fills out” the lips, and the patient looks like she is pouting, or like she has “duck lips”. Why does this happen? As the face ages, and the skin follows gravity, the upper lip is dragged down and actually elongates. Since the red part of the lip is attached to the gums, the skin of the lip “rolls over” the red part, so the red part appears to “shrink”. Since the lip is already long, when you add more bulk to the red part, it starts to bump into the lower lip and gets “pushed out”. Thus the pouty look or “duck lips”.
With a lip lift there is no ‘filling’ –no possibility of duck lips. The lip lift works by taking a strip of skin fom the part of the lip close to the nose and hiding the scar in the line of separation between nose and lip. This scar is very well disguised, similar to the facelift scar in front of the ear, as the surgical incision is between two different anatomic structures.
In many cases, the lip lift result is superior to lip fillers because the lip contour does actually look younger, rather than just “fatter”. With the lip lift, the lip has a more natural relation to the lower lip. What about my lip lift patient from yesterday? She had tried alloderm and goretex (both lip fillers) without success. The fillers did not give her the youthful look that she desired. She said when she “pulled her lip up” it looked like she wanted it to look. Thus, she was a perfect candidate for the lip lift procedure.
After the lip lift she looked great, and the scar will be very well disguised. The lip lift is a great procedure!
Ricardo L. Rodriguez, MD
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23 Comments
August 11, 2010 at 10:52 am
Nikki
Because of the placement of the scar underneath the nose, and the techniques I use (rapidly absorbable sutures and fibrin glue) the scar is barely visible when I see the patients at the first week postoperative visit.
I have had patients come to see me a month after surgery where I don’t even remember they had the surgery and they have to remind me and literally lift up the nose and point to the nose scar.
Most people comment that if they knew it was this easy they would have done it years ago.
August 6, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Hi dr. Rodriguez,
with great interest have I followed your explanation about a lip lift and the comments and questions. I was wondering, about how long will it take for the scar to heal and not be obvious anymore? My skin is very slightly tinted
almost fair. Thank you, Nikki
April 25, 2010 at 7:40 am
Sandra:
I will answer you in english but if you decide get a virtual consultation with us, I will personally answer all your questions in spanish.
As for the price of different surgeries, you can contact Kelly at kely@cosmeticsurg.net.
It is possible to do chin implant and Lip lift at the same time, and indeed I have done it. As for adding a rhinoplasty to it, that is a little different. It depends on what kind of work you want done in the nose. If the nose work is too extensive, it may not be possible to do all three t the same time.
Many of our patients do travel from out of town, and it would be ideal if you had the surgery one day and left the next after I checked you out personally.
Once you have surgery, I tend to follow up with my patients for as long as necessary, whether that may be a minimum of 4 months or years.
Nos encantaria poder verte y ayudarte. Que pases buen dia!
April 21, 2010 at 1:03 pm
QUIERO HACERME LIP LIFT, AFINAR LA NARIZ Y CHIN AUGMENTATION; ES POSIBLE HACER LOS TRES EN UNA SOLA CIRUJIA?. VIVO EN NEW YORK, ES POSIBLE REGRESAR POR CARRETERA A NEW YORK EL MISMO DIA O AL SIGUIENTE DIA DESPUES DE LA CIRUJIA, Y REGRESAR EN LA SIGUIENTE SEMANA PARA LA CONSULTA FINAL?. PODRIA TENER UNA IDEA DEL PRECIO DE ESTE PROCEDIMIENTO?
March 12, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Cate:
I would wait at least 3 months after surgery, when all the tissues are soft and pliable again.
BTW, I’d do the rhinoplasty first, because it will affect how the lip looks.
March 10, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Hey long before or after can a rhinoplasty be done?
March 10, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Cate:
I would be hesitant to do a rhinoplasty at the same time as a lip lift because of issues related to blood supply needed for healing.
It may be able to be done, but I will let others take the risk. I am not willing to take that risk.
When properly done. the lip lift incision bears no tension, because the tension is distributed to the deeper tissues. Thus the scar becomes unnoticeable very quickly. I have seen patients a week after surgery that do not look like anything has been done until they lift their head to show me the scar.
As for any judgements regarding your particular case, I would have to see pictures. Talk to Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net if you wannt me to review your pictures.
March 8, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Hi,
I have heard that you can’t get a lip lift at the same time as rhinoplasty, is it true? And if so, why? Also, I was wondering how long it takes for the lip lift to become unnoticeable and the swelling/scarring to die down? Also, in my case my upper lip is almost none existant with there being a small cupids bow but when my face is relaxed you cannot see the sides of the upper lip, will the lip lift help this? Thanks.
February 19, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Arnene:
We have since spoken, and whenever you get the chance, let us know what the neurologist said, for the education of all the readers.
Sometimes situations that seem simple have many ramifications that are not obvious unless you get a complete history. The series of pictures you sent me were worth their weight in gold, and as a matter of fact, every person you consult with should get a copy of them.
I hope our telephone consult helped!
February 11, 2010 at 8:47 am
Doctor Rodriquez
Thank you!!!…i sent an email to Kelly as you suggested below…you are the ONLY doctor that seems to provide something that makes sense to me!!!! i have seen my original cosmetic dermatologist and he told me I either:
1) aged upper left lip only or
2) i have a neurological problem !!! He also told me there is NO MORE juvederm in the lip or above the lip !! All of what he said to me DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME!!!
I then went to two plastic surgeons and they BOTH discount damage to the 7th cranial facial nerve and discount aging of my left lip…they both feel juvederm is still sitting above the lip …and that trauma caused this issue in some way and both do not know how to help me …then i went to a third doctor, another cosmetic dermatologist and he told me I might have:
1) i have a neuro facial nerve problem
2) there is NO juvederm left above my upper lip
3) see a neuro doc to rule out nerve damage and then he might consider shooting sth in me to dissolve juvederm ….
i would like a phone consult w you and I have plenty of pics to show you …how do i arrange this?
i emailed Kelly as you suggested below but who is she ? does she work in your office ? just wondering…
Thank you …Arnene (please help ?)
February 5, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Arnene:
The doctor probably hit a small artery called the labial artery that runs along the border of the lips. Anybody who does injections to the lips will eventually hit it.
What you had was a blood clot that turned into fibrous tissue.
Without seeing your pictures I cannot make a recommendation, but if you are interested, call Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
February 1, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I had juvederm injection only in my upper left lip because i wanted symmetry …after the injection i was in extreme pain, a ball formed above my lip and i was black and blue for about 4 weeks time. I had had juvederm injected in that lip before but never did i have this reaction before until this last time. Same doctor by the way. I went to see him one week after that last injection and he said it would resolve and that i should massage it. One year later my lip still does not move “up” when i smile so now I look deformed when i smile. Can you help?
December 26, 2009 at 1:12 am
Lyn:
thanks for the compliment!
I love Chicago!!!!!!!
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is located in Chicago. Just ask around, I’m sure there’s plenty of good people there.
We do a lot of people from out of town, so you are always welcome.
December 17, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Anyone as good as you here in Chicago?
October 11, 2009 at 1:37 pm
You sound like a perfect candidate for an upper lip lift.
I think a vast number of women getting lip injections would be better served by lip lifts.
Thanks for checking out our blog, let your friends know about it.
We’d love to hear from you, we get lots of patients from out of town. Contact Kelly at kelly@cosmeticsurg.net
October 10, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hi Dr. Rodriquez,
I had a filler in my upper lip about six years ago.At first I was very happy with it. T,he problem now is I have a duck lip. From the front it does not look too bad just some drooping on the bottom of the upper lip. I am 58 years old and I have become very self conscious about this, to the point that I try to avoid someone looking at my profile when possiblle. I have been researching for over a year for possible corrective procedures when I found your site. Is there any possibility that there is something that can be done to help me.
Thank you,
Mary H.
September 15, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Unfortunately,I don’t know anyone in Pittsburgh that performs the procedure.
Although the procedure is talked about a lot on the internet, not a lot of people go through with it. Those that do, are very happy.
I do only the bullhorn, because the scar is hidden under the nose. The seagull scar is on the white line of the lip, where the skin of the lip rolls into the red part of the lip. It is right there on the kisser. No way to hide it.
Call Kelly, our patient coordinator, she had the procedure done. She can talk to you as a fellow patient can.
kelly@cosmeticsurg.net
410 494-8100
I love the procedure and I’d love to see you.
September 11, 2009 at 2:50 am
Hi,
I am very interested in an upper lip lift, but cannot seem to find anyone in the Pittsburgh, PA area. How many upper lip lift procedures have you performed? Is there any difference between the ’seagull’ and the ‘bullhorn’ cut?
I might be travelling to Baltimore…!
September 7, 2009 at 8:43 pm
The corners of the lip can be raised by a procedure called Depressor Anguli Oris (DAO) release.
A small incision is made in the corner of the mouth (on the inside, or mucosal side), and the muscle is released.
I like to do a Botox trial before, because patients can lose the ability to turn the corners of the mouth down after the procedure.
I usually do the botox at the time of the upper lip lift. If the patient likes the result, she can then go on to getting the DAO release.
Hope this helps!
September 2, 2009 at 6:31 pm
You lip lifts look good. I was wondering if you ever add a corner lip lift to your regular lip lift so the corners don’t look droopy.
Here is a doctor’s site I found that describes it and has a photo.
http://www.seattleface.com/html/lip_augmentation.php
You have a good reputation on the blogs and are close enough to Raleigh, NC where I live. Haven’t found anyone here who does lip lifts.
Thanks.
August 18, 2009 at 10:27 am
informative for me, like that
injectable filler
June 8, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Please contact kelly@cosmeticsurg.net.
We would need to see a picture and have you send some measurements to see how the procedure would be of benefit to you.
But yes, I love doing it.
June 7, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I am interested in a lip lift. I am 32 years old. Can you tell me what the price is for this procedure?
Thank you.
Ruby Sanchez
Alhambra, Ca.