Mr Omar Tillo
Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Upper Lip Lift
At a Glance
Do you want to improve the aesthetic appeal of your lips and mouth area? An upper lip lift can reduce the distance between the nose and lip, making the lips appear fuller and more youthful.
Anaesthesia type: Local Procedure time: 1 hour Recovery time: 2 daysAbout
A lip lift is a popular surgical procedure that can be done for patients of all ages, and benefits those who wish to improve their smile and the appearance of the mouth area. Through this procedure, the surgeon reduces the distance between the upper lip and the base of the nose, which gives the appearance of full lips and an overall youthful complexion. The other type of lip lift surgery is corner lip lift, which only targets the corners of the lips, elevating them slightly. This procedure is recommended for patients who have lip corners pointing downwards, making it look like they are frowning.
Candidates
Lip lift surgery is a relatively simple procedure that is recommended for patients of all ages.
There are several reasons why people will feel the need to get lip lift surgery. This includes:
Having too much skin space between the upper lip and nose. This will help patients to obtain youthful, fuller lips. The ideal space between the lip and the base of the nose is considered to be between 1 – 1.2 cm in women and larger for men, between 1.3 – 1.5. As we age and bones start to retract, the bones around the nose no longer support the skin, making it saggy.
Having dropped lip corners. Corner lip lift surgery is extremely effective and can get rid of an unpleasant frowny look.
A lip lift can help those who have had lip filler injections and feel they have “duck face.”
Due to ageing, or sometimes hereditary, teeth do not show when smiling as the lip covers them too much. Lip lifts can help people to achieve balance and definition in their face.
Procedure
As part of the consultation, you will first communicate your requirements to our surgeons, indicating the issue that concerns you and then possible solutions will be discussed. Depending on the problem, the surgeon will recommend either an upper lip lift or corner lip lift and, in the case of the former, you will establish how much skin should be removed. This part of the consultation is done in front of the mirror so that you know exactly how you will look like after the procedure.
Because this type of surgery is not very complex, only a local anaesthesia is required, so the doctor will not ask you to do blood tests. However, you should refrain from consuming alcohol or aspirin for 14 days before surgery. You will also need to avoid smoking for at least two weeks beforehand, as well as throughout the recovery period.
Upper lip lift
The vast majority of patients can go through this procedure only with local anaesthesia, so the doctor will not put you on an IV. After the area is numbed, the surgeon will start by making an incision at the base of the nose, removing a small portion of the skin and surrounding tissue. No muscles and nerves are cut here, because it’s very important for them not to be affected. Then, the skin is lifted and placed in the new position, so that the lip no longer covers the teeth, revealing younger, fuller looking lips.
Corner lip lift
This is done under similar conditions to upper lip lift, under local anaesthesia. You can have this done on its own, just to correct lip corners, or together with upper lip lift, on the same day. Also called “smile surgery”, it involves two excisions on both corners of the lips. Then, using two dissolvable sutures, the corners are slightly lifted. Again, the tissue removed does not include any muscles and nerves in this procedure either.
Our team here, at the Centre For Surgery, includes only highly trained, professional surgeons who are familiar with the particulates of lip lift surgery, so you can rest assured that the work done is very meticulous and subtle. Our surgeons are always careful to remove only one small portion of tissue and raise the lip corners only slightly, without extending them.
Recovery
In general, recovery after lip lift surgery is very smooth and last for about one month. Immediately after the procedure, you will be allowed to go home for recovery, no hospital admission is required. In the first couple of days, it is perfectly normal for your mouth area to remains swollen and you not be allowed to eat anything other than soft foods. After four days, you will be able to get to work, but you will still experience a feeling of tightness and swelling. The sutures placed during surgery are dissolvable, so you will not need to return to the clinic to have them removed.
Over the next weeks, the swelling will steadily go down, so that after one month the area will be completely healed. The redness should go away within two weeks, but if it doesn’t, topical applications of steroid cream will accelerate scar healing.
Side effects
Like any surgical procedure, lip lift has potential risks and complications which, though rare, could occur, and you should be aware of them. These include:
- Uneven healing of the lips
- Scarring
- Swelling around the nose and lips
- Infection
- In rare circumstances and if the patient has a history, keloidal scars can occur.
Your surgeon may make you aware of how the risk of side effects may increase if you choose to go abroad for surgery.
FAQs
Although lip fillers also slightly lift the lips, the results aren’t the same as after a lip lift. They are meant to fill the lips, not raise them, and definitely not remove unwanted skin tissues. In fact, if you have a lot of skin between the nose and lip and have lip fillers, you risk getting the unwanted “duck face” effect.
Yes, they are. This is a procedure and you will not have to return to the clinic to have the procedure redone.
During the procedure, you will not feel anything, because you will be under local anaesthesia. However, once the effects wear off, you will experience some discomfort which will go away in time. If the soreness becomes too bothersome, you can take pain medication.
The scars will only be visible for a couple of weeks after surgery and then they will fade away because we only use the highest quality dissolvable sutures. To accelerate skin healing, you can apply over the counter creams.
Every patient has different features and we do not use a template when deciding how much tissue will be removed. This is established together, based on your preferences. In general, we remove between 5mm and 7mm of skin, depending on the sagginess and how plump you want your upper lip to be.
Why choose us?
Surgeon-led and managed care throughout for a truly personalised approach
Our innovative ClearSleep anaesthesia technique
Comprehensive aftercare programme
Financing options available
Our Consultant Surgeons
Verified Patient Reviews
We searched for many different surgeries to perform my procedure but the center for surgery really stuck out. The staff were incredibly friendly and the receptionist Gregory and surgeon Omar were highly professional, welcoming and made me feel at ease. Would highly recommend to anyone!
Dexter Montgomery
20:14 25 Apr 18
Old implants removed and replaced, plus silicone granules removed from right armpit. My previous surgery was done over 20 years ago. (I never really had any breast tissue, so I had the implants to look normal). One implant had erupted and both had capsulated. I was never told they had a shelf life! When I first arrived at the clinic in Watford, ( I never went to th Harley St surgery) I was quite dubious about the whole set-up. The Surgery is right in the middle of a Business Site and it seemed like some sort of Back Street Butchery. (I hope this review will put people's minds at rest when they first arrive) It actually didn't help much that I had to wait an hour because the surgery that day had overrun, however, after talking to Omar Tillo and seeing how clued up he was on my situation, I began to relax. It didn't stop me going on-line to Google him and everything else about the practice, but it was all good. On the day of the surgery, I met with Mr Tillo again. I also met everyone else who was going to be in theatre with me and they all came to me individually to explain their roll. It was very comforting and reassuring. The surgery was quite lengthy and took several hours. I hadn't decided what size implants to go for pre surgery as my old ones were so distorted and out of place, so I left it with Mr Tillo to make the decision once the others had been removed. It is now 3 weeks since the implants were replaced and I am delighted with how I look and feel. The size and shape are perfect for me. Nothing weird or huge; I'm on the wrong side of 50 now so am not looking for glamour, just normality. The post surgery is superb. My coordinator, Naz, is very efficient and can't do enough for me. The incision in my armpit where the silicone particles had to be removed is probably the most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure, but most of you won't have to worry about that. I got a sick note for work purposes without any fuss at all, so over all; worth every penny! Don't let your first impressions put you off :-) Good luck.
Nina
14:43 02 Jun 18
Had a BA and uplift with Mr Tillo amazing MR Tillo knew what I wanted the staff where so lovely and looked after me the after care is excellent I would definitely recommend centre for surgery and would go again I’m so pleased thank you so much
Dee Catton
10:09 15 May 18
If you don't know about Omar tillo you should HES AMAZING at his job.. I went for bbl and at present I'm 9 days post op and loving my results. I must also review gregory .. my co ordinator .. Gregory your one of the most wonderful people out there you hsve gone above and beyond for me to make sure The dates the times were right just for me .. this is an AMAZING company with AMAZING staff.. so much so I'm going for a consultation in 8 weeks for breast surgery ...
Bryanna buswell
11:39 23 May 18
Highly recommend. Very professional and friendly staff.Had my BA and everything went smooth and good. I would choose this place over and over again for all the plastic surgeries.
Melania Ciurea
13:45 13 Mar 18
I had a tummy tuck 2 weeks and 4 days ago. It is something I had been considering for a whilst now that I have completed my family. Also the excess skin and fat was getting me down. I went to another consultation in Harley Street which was 15 mins where the Dr examined me and told me he could do the work and his secretary than called me with the price, it was very rushed. I found Dr Tillo searching the net and after reading his reviews I called his office and spoke with Naz, she was very friendly, explained their procedures and arranged an appointment for me to meet with him. I met Dr Tillo in his Watford clinic, I felt at ease with him straight away. Dr Tillo examined me and than explained what the procedure would involve. I had a few questions and he was very patient and explained everything fully and clearly, I never felt rushed at all.On the day of my operation I was excited. Dr Tillo’s staff were All lovely and so was the anethesist who explained everything and next thing I knew I was asleep. When I woke up it didn’t even feel as if though I had had an operation! My husband picked me up , I was given pain killers and it was explained that I would need to keep my compression belt on and drains would be removed after two days.I went home a very happy lady!!!As days have passed I have healed very well with no complications, I am so pleased with my new tummy, I know it’s good esp since my 3 year old doesn’t think there’s a baby in there anymore!I cannot Thank Dr Tillo and his staff enough!!
Hanna
17:13 19 Jul 18
Dr Tillo and his team are fantastic. Nothing has been too much for them!!I was told my tummy tuck would cost £17,000 at one clinic and £13,000 at another. It was considerably cheaper here. I'm not one to go for 'the cheaper options usually, as I tend to think you would get a cheaper result. But Dr Tillo pointed out that I didn't need all the work doing that the other places had said I did!! They were using my body to make money! Due to his honesty, and his non judgemental view, I left feeling confident that he was the man I needed.I am only a week out and thrilled to bits with my result so far. I can't recommend them enough.
Rachel Irwin
08:33 16 Aug 18
Very welcoming and professional, Mr Tillo,his team and Nikesh the PA.
Joshua Alexander
12:22 17 Aug 18
Honestly, I was supposed to have a surgery at another private hospital (this hospital was supposed to be one of the best in london) but I chose to get my surgery done at center for surgery instead, my main reason for this was the level of service I recieved, the staff are very professional, they are caring (I had not eaten the entire day on the day of my surgery and one of the nurses got me some food without me asking her to do so. My surgery itself was amazing considering I never had one before and was a bit nervous beforehand. The staff calls you everyday to make sure you are ok and coping post surgery. Honestly I cannot thank the staff enough.
Frazer Gonsalves
23:45 26 Oct 18
