A beautiful face has a certain harmony to it and the lips plays a vital role in creating a youthful, happy, or sometimes sexy appearance. A lip lift shortens the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip. This surgery allows for changes to the shape of the mouth and lips that cannot be accomplished with even the best filler injections.
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THE PROCEDURE
A lip lift is a minimally invasive procedure, requiring only local anesthesia. The operation is relatively simple to perform but requires great attention to detail, meticulous technique, and experience.
The patient is marked and measured precisely to create the design for the skin that will be removed from under the nose. An incision is created at the base of the nose and the skin excised, undermined, then advanced and secured in place.
CONSULTATION AND PLANNING
Dr. Frankel individualizes every patient’s care. He invests the time to fully understand patient expectations, learn complete history, evaluate the inside and outside of the nose, and take digital images. Dr. Frankel will discuss the cosmetic and functional expectations of your surgery in detail to ensure all your questions are answered.
DR. FRANKEL’S NOTES
“Too many people are walking around with huge, shapeless lips that look ridiculous! This is because there are so many practitioners who feel that more filler and more volume will create a prettier shape. This just isn’t the case. Filler is merely adding volume and with it, weight, stiffness, and projection. It is not ideal for creating a desired shape; and that’s where surgery comes into play.
A lip lift requires an artistic eye to achieve desirable results. The techniques used during the procedure are largely dependent on the innate shape of the mouth and the goals of the patient. The most usual lip lift technique is an incisional scar at the base of the nose. However sometimes incisions are made inside of the lip or even on the face just above the corners of the mouth.
The great majority of the time this scar heals to a point of being unnoticeable to any casual observer, even without makeup. However, healing is not completely predictable and there are times when the scar requires some help and we might recommend laser, cortisone injections or dermabrasion. If the patients are chosen carefully for this procedure then the net gain is always substantially greater than any downside and we have happy patients and surgeon.”
– Andrew Frankel, M.D.
Before and after
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*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary.
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PREPARATION & EXPECTATIONS
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Preparation
Our office will provide a comprehensive plan for how to prepare for surgery and a list of and vitamins, herbs or medications to avoid in the days and weeks before your procedure. You will also need to stop smoking before and after surgery as it inhibits healing.
Length of surgery
A lip lift takes Dr. Frankel approximately one and a half hours to complete.
Recovery time
The first several days after a lip lift there will be swelling and distortion to the lip.
The smile will feel strange and stiff and many patients become a bit anxious about what they are seeing.
The sutures will be removed on day six and usually things will begin to normalize and people can return to their social and work lives around the ninth day.
Because the surgery requires many deep sutures there may be some small surface irregularities as they dissolve over time.
After care
A moderate degree of swelling is typical for the first seventy two hours after a lip lift. This can be controlled with a cold compress.
A small amount of bruising may be present, but will fade in less than a week. Any pain or discomfort may be able to be controlled with pain medication.
Sutures will be removed six days following surgery.