Thanks to the growing popularity of fuller-looking lips, it’s highly likely that you’ve already heard about lip fillers and how they can augment your lips.
But what if there’s a way you could permanently have those ideal lips without worrying about touch-ups later on?
A lip lift is all you need to make your lips look fuller and more pronounced. It can add height to your lips, thus improving your lip contour and giving them a shape that fits your overall facial aesthetics.
Learn more about the lip lift and how it can help you attain a more youthful face by reading the rest of this article
A lip lift is a surgical procedure that reduces the length of the upper lip skin to improve the upper lip and mouth’s appearance.
It does so by shortening the philtrum, the space between the nose and the top lip. It also increases the amount of visible pink tissue and the visibility of your upper central teeth when your lips are resting.
Traditionally, lip lifts were performed on older patients with an elongated upper lip and lip volume loss. However, it can also be done if you just want to make your lips look fuller and add height to your lips.
A lip lift is a permanent surgical procedure that enhances the appearance of the upper lip. In most cases, this eliminates the need for lip filler.
Lip augmentation with lip filler is a temporary treatment to increase volume and improve lip contour. In many cases, this filler can migrate to areas outside the injection region and create an unnatural appearance in the upper cutaneous lip.
A lip filler may also need to be dissolved before a lip lift due to the risk of filler migration into the lip’s upper skin portion.
Although there’s a wide variety of lip lift techniques to choose from, Dr. Razfar focuses on two methods to give you the most natural-looking lips: deep plane lip lift and corner lip lift.
A deep plane lip lift adopts deep plane facelift techniques and applies them to the lip.
The deeper tissue layer — known as the superficial musculoaponeurotic system or SMAS — is released and repositioned securely to deeper structures around the nasal base.
Unlike traditional lip lift techniques, the deep plane technique minimizes unsightly scars and alterations in the nasal base. Each lip lift can be customized to your specific anatomy, allowing a tension-free closure and nearly invisible scar.
The deep plane technique reduces the common stigma of upper lip lift procedures and produces more natural results.
Some patients have a downturn at the corners of their upper lip. While a deep plane lip lift can address this in some cases, a corner lip lift may be needed to create a balanced appearance of the entire upper lip.
In this technique, Dr. Razfar makes a small incision at the vermillion border and excises a small flap to lift the upper lip’s buried portion. This incision is unnoticeable once it heals fully.
Traditional lip lift techniques done by other plastic surgeons, like the bullhorn lip lift and Italian lip lift, commonly use a subnasal incision with a skin-only excision. This often leads to unsightly scars, alterations in the nasal base, and unnatural results.
On the other hand, the gullwing or direct lip lift places incisions directly above the lip’s vermilion border. This also leads to complications like unfavorable scarring, poor lip border aesthetics, and an unnatural appearance.
Due to inadequate lateral release, many of these techniques exaggerate the central portion of the lip, also known as a central lip lift.
With the deep plane technique, each lip lift can be customized to your specific anatomy, allowing a tension-free closure and nearly invisible scar.
A lip lift is generally performed under local anesthesia, with oral sedation in some cases.
If it is combined with other procedures such as a facelift or rhinoplasty, the procedure will be performed under a deep IV sedation or general anesthesia.
After a thorough evaluation and careful measurements, Dr. Razfar marks the skin to be removed. This is the most crucial step in the surgical process, as this is where customization is planned.
He then removes the marked skin excision and elevates the deep SMAS layer, securing it to the deep structures within the nasal base. He then meticulously sutures the incision to complete the tension-free skin closure.
If you require any other procedures, Dr. Razfar does it right after the lip lift. Examples of ancillary procedures include the corner lip lift, CO2 laser, and V-Y advancement.
It is vital to seek a surgeon who understands the nuances of lip anatomy and aesthetics. And fortunately for people in Orange County and Los Angeles, Dr. Razfar of The Aesthetic Centers fits the bill.
Dr. Razfar completed his residency in Head and Neck Surgery at the UCLA Medical Center, one of the country’s top programs. After residency, he completed a prestigious fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Razfar has extensive experience in all aspects of advanced lip lift surgery. He is among the few surgeons in the country that utilizes the deep plane lip lift technique, producing more natural results.
Read the general information on recovery after facial surgery.
In general, the overall healing time for a lip lift lasts about three months. Our technique has a longer recovery time but better results with a less complication rate. For a problem-free recovery, you have to follow Dr. Razfar’s instructions, such as the following.
General Instructions
| Timeline | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1-2 weeks | Lips are extremely swollen and bruised. |
| 3 weeks |
Swelling considerably decreases, though your lips will still feel tight. You can resume normal activities. |
| 2 months |
Your lips may have a shiny and slightly swollen appearance. At this point we may perform a CO2 laser. |
| 3 months |
Lip movement is nearly normal, nose looks more normal. Your lip will overall look normal and any signs of surgery are unnoticeable. Internally you are still about 20% healed. |
| 3 months to 1 year |
Internal healing continues with occasional stiffness. Additional CO2 laser as needed. |
After your surgery, you can expect to have:
Like all other surgeries, a lip lift has its own set of risks. These may include:
Inform your board-certified facial plastic surgeon if you experience any of these complications.
To get a proper estimate, please contact our office for more information on pricing and financing options.
Since the lip lift is an elective procedure, it is not covered by insurance.
A thorough examination will determine if you are a good candidate for a lip lift. But to help you evaluate if this is a good option for you, here are some things you need to answer:
If you answered YES to any of these questions, you might be a prime candidate for a lip lift.
Before you schedule an appointment with your plastic surgeon, you first have to consider the following factors that might affect your results:
Lack of Philtrum Space
You typically need at least 1.5 centimeters of space between the base of your nose and the top of your lip to get a lip lift. Otherwise, it won’t produce the best results.
Smoking
Smoking may delay your healing process, so you need to stop smoking two to four weeks before and after your surgery.
Good Overall Health
You need to be in an overall good state of physical health before getting a lip lift. Any severe pre-existing conditions, like oral herpes, diabetes, and blood clotting problems, can increase your risk for lip lift complications.
Interested in getting a lip lift for plumper and younger-looking lips? Choose a board-certified and highly experienced facial plastic surgeon like Dr. Razfar to give you the beautiful smile you’ve always wanted.
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3701 Birch St. #200, Newport Beach, CA 92660
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