Lip Lift

A lip lift shortens the distance between the nose and the upper lip (the philtrum), revealing more of the upper-lip vermilion and producing a younger, more defined mouth. Unlike dermal fillers, the change is permanent.

Lip lift vs. dermal fillers

Fillers add volume temporarily. A lip lift changes the structural proportion of your upper face permanently. They are different tools for different goals. A long philtrum — the distance from the base of the nose to the Cupid's bow — only responds to a lift, not fillers.

Who is a good candidate?

• Patients with a long philtrum making the upper lip look thin.
• Patients who have grown tired of maintaining fillers every six to twelve months.
• Realistic about the permanent scar hidden at the base of the nose.

The procedure

Local anaesthesia, thirty to sixty minutes. Day-case. A "bullhorn" incision is made at the base of the nose, a calibrated strip of skin is removed, and the lip is advanced upward.

Recovery

Bruising and swelling for seven to ten days. Scar at the base of the nose fades well — in most patients it is invisible by six months. Final shape settles by three months.