Lip Lift

Lip lift surgery is a surgical procedure for correcting a long upper lip. Over time, the skin overlying the lips tends to lose its elasticity and undergoes descent with a subsequent change in the upper lip shape and length. Some patients are often distressed by an excessive length between the upper lip and base of the nose that can either progress over time or be present from birth. Having a long upper lip can result in a reduction in teeth visibility with the relaxation of mouth opening and upon smiling.

An upper lip lift can address the aesthetics of the upper lip area by reduction of the distance between the nose and lip, making the lips appear fuller and more youthful. Many patients have thin lips, and a lip lift procedure can also address this common feature of the ageing process. As part of the natural ageing process, drooping of the corners of the mouth may occur, and a corner lip lift can effectively correct a downturned mouth. For patients looking to slow down the signs of ageing and rejuvenate the central third of the face, lip lift surgery at Centre for Surgery could be a highly effective solution.

All our plastic surgeons are on the GMC specialist register. The Royal College of Surgeons of England has an excellent information resource on cosmetic surgery.

10 REASONS TO CHOOSE US – CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Optimising the aesthetics of the lips

Our lips come in many different shapes and sizes. The foundation of a beautiful lip enhancement procedure with a lip lift is to maintain the correct balance and proportion with the rest of the facial features. The lips are divided into different areas that can be addressed with non-invasive procedures like lip fillers and minimally invasive surgical procedures like a lip lift.

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. A well-performed lip lift can also eliminate the need for lip fillers as the lifting of the upper lip also creates an eversion effect and exposes more of the natural upper lip.

What is a lip lift, and is it worth it?

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.

Improve your smile with a corner lip lift

Lip Lift or Lip Fillers?

At Centre for Surgery, our top plastic surgeons are known for their beautiful natural results achieved with lip fillers for restoration of volume loss. Our surgeons only use dermal fillers made of hyaluronic acid, which occurs naturally in the human body. Premium dermal fillers last, on average, about 6-12 months, depending on the filler type, after which top-up treatments are needed to maintain the results. Our surgeons commonly use the Juvederm range of dermal fillers, which have an excellent safety profile. Whilst dermal fillers are great as a non-surgical option for the treatment of small lips, many patients desire a more long-term solution which does not entail the use of regular dermal filler treatments. A lip lift procedure can achieve a more natural enlargement of the upper lip to restore facial balance.

A facial plastic surgeon is trained to undertake aesthetic surgical procedures in the facial region and is best placed to perform lip lift surgery. They are dedicated sub-specialists. Compared with general plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons are inherently better trained to perform delicate facial procedures. The extra years of surgical training by facial specialists focused on the facial region results in an exceptionally high degree of skill. Lip lift surgery is intricate surgery, and our surgeons are highly experienced in undertaking surgery on the delicate perioral region.

• Alok Misra
• Ertan Erel

Our surgeons are full members of:

Based on 135 reviews

Zara Khan

19/11/2021

Amazing from start to finish, the communication was the main thing was fully informed and looked after, on the day of my breast augmentation, the staff were fab and made me feel at ease through out the whole process. Thank you so much.

Mohammed Farid

18/11/2021

I’ve had such a great experience with excellent advice, care and attention and surgical treatment (gynaecomastia) - I can fully endorse the treatment I have received from Centre for Surgery with absolutely no qualms at all. Brilliant in every way - thank you all so much.

Caroline Thorpe

14/11/2021

Very pleased with my whole experience of having a procedure. Was so nervous about getting treatment and i was reassured and felt so comfortable throughout thanks to the amazing nurses. I definitely made the right decision to have breast augmentation at centre for surgery with dr erel.

Melissa Briggs

08/11/2021

So glad I went with centre for surgery, the whole process went very smoothly from the consultations down to the actual day of the procedure. I was so nervous on the day but the whole team put me at ease and I’m happy with my results as I feel a lot more comfortable wearing certain clothes now. My surgeon was Alberto Di Giuseppe who performed a breast Augmentation on me, and I would definitely recommend as he was very clear on what the outcome of the surgery would be and which size would look the best for my frame.

Raphinha kiki

08/11/2021

Couldn’t be happier with Dr Tillo work,i had my breast surgery one week ago and so happy with the results so far,all the staff are extremely nice and very supportive,i would definitely recommend their services,thank so much

Grace Olafemi

15/10/2021

From start to the finish everything was perfect for tummy tuck surgery. All staff is very friendly and the aftercare has been good. The Doctor and the nurse team was fantastic. I'm so happy...result is amazing. Thank you!!!

Ranjit Singh

14/10/2021

This was overall a great experience, all the staff at Centre for Surgery were friendly and put me at ease. It is a nerve wracking thing to go through an op but the staff were so nice. Mr Ertan has got a great team around him. On the day of the operation everything went smoothly to plan, there was no delay or holdups, I had another consultation with Mr Ertan who confirmed what was going to be done and that I was still happy to proceed. I was prepped for the procedure, I met with the anaesthetist who again was really nice and put me at ease explaining his role. After the procedure I woke up with the nurse by my side making sure I was OK and checking on me, I was able to stay in the clinic until I was ready to leave and was not rushed at all. I was well looked after from the start to the point when I was discharged. Post operation I was staying at a local hotel it was so close there was no point in even getting a taxi and I was able to walk back where my partner was waiting for me. I was expecting a lot of bruising to both my eyes but there was very little if any by the time the cast came off after 7 days, I am now at the two week post operation point and it is healing well with no outwardly visible bruising or scaring. The next milestone is a checkup at the 6 week point with my surgeon. If you're thinking of having something like this done I would highly recommend getting in touch with Centre for Surgery.

Layla Karami

13/10/2021

The staff at Centre for Surgery were very kind and accommodating. They answered any questions I had about the procedure and were constantly checking up on me. A special thank you to Christina for all her support throughout.

Gemma Small

08/10/2021

I would just like to state the quality of care received from the nurses at Centre for Surgery was beyond the highest level. Sophie takes her patient care to another level beyond words. She always puts me at ease. She is there for me even at awkward hours just when I mostly needed reassurance and she is one of the most compassionate nurses I have come across and demonstrates her passion naturally for caring for others. She totally deserves recognition at its finest and thank you for always being there for me. 😍

Lip lift surgery is designed to reduce the length of a long upper lip in a vertical plane and also to improve the shape of the upper lip. With the surgical reduction of the skin of the upper lip, the red portion of the lip and everts to give a fuller appearance to the red part of the upper lip. The cupid’s bow of the upper lip is also refined with greater definition. An accentuated cupid’s bow is recognised to be an attractive feature of the lips.

Lip lift surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that is available for patients over 18 years of age.

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 cm. 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 overfilled lips with repeated filler injections over the years.
• 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.

Preparation for a lip lift

Patients who smoke will be advised to stop for at least 2 weeks before the date of their nose job procedure. Smoking has detrimental effects on your circulation and is well known to slow the healing process after a lip lift. All medications, prescribed and over the counter, will be reviewed. Aspirin and aspirin-containing medicines should be stopped both before and after surgery. Aspirin and NSAIDs impair the body’s natural clotting process and may cause bleeding complications after lip lift surgery. If you require pain relief after surgery, paracetamol is advised.

As part of the consultation, you will first communicate your requirements to your facial plastic surgeon, 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 a 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 what you will look like after the procedure.

Lip lift surgery is an outpatient surgical procedure. You will be admitted and discharged on the same day, allowing you to recover in the comfort of your own home.

Lip lift surgery is considered a minimally invasive surgical procedure and, in most cases, can be performed under a local anaesthetic. You can choose to have some supplementary mild tablet oral sedation if you feel nervous on the day of your procedure. TIVA general anaesthesia is reserved for complex cases, revision surgery or lip lift combined with more invasive procedures such as a facelift.

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.

Types of lip lift

There are a number of different surgical techniques for performing a lip lift. The bull horn excision technique is the most popular method.

Direct lip lift (vermillion technique)

A direct lip lift is also known as a ‘gull-wing lip lift’. This method of lip lift involves the placement of incisions along the vermillion border of the lip. The vermillion border is the junction between the red and white lip which is also referred to as the lip roll. The surgeon removes a strip of skin above the incision, and as the incision is closed with sutures, the lip undergoes a degree of elevation in an upwards direction. Patients may be left with a small scar on the upper lip area.

Bullhorn lip lift (subnasal technique)

A bull horn lip refers to the shape of the incision made at the base of the nose. The vast majority of patients can have the Bull horn lip lift procedure with local anaesthesia – general anaesthesia is an option if you wish. After the area is injected with local anaesthesia, the surgeon will perform an incision just under the nose at the junction between the nose and lip (often referred to as the subnasal technique). The marked amount of skin and soft tissue is removed and deep sutures are placed by the surgeon to create an upward lift of the lip. The skin incision is then carefully sutured in 2 layers to optimise the appearance of the resulting scar. The sutures are permanent, so they will have to be removed approximately five days later. This method results in a well-hidden scar, and after a period of 6 months or more, it can be very difficult to make out the original site of the incision for the lip lift procedure.

Corner lip lift

A corner lip lift is effective for lifting downturned mouth corners as a result of the ageing process giving rise to a more smiley appearance. This procedure is also commonly performed under local anaesthesia. You can have this done on its own, just to correct lip corners, or together with a central bullhorn lip lift. Also called “smile surgery” involves two small incisions 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.

Italian lip lift

An Italian lip lift is similar to a bullhorn or sub-nasal lip lift except that the incisions are made beneath both nostrils, so the resulting scar tends to be much less visible.

Revision lip lift

In a growing number of cases, our surgeons review patients who have had a lip lift performed elsewhere, and the results have not been up to the patient’s expectations. Our surgeons have many years of performing meticulous facial plastic surgery and are highly skilled in performing revision lip lift surgery with excellent results.

Our team here at Centre for Surgery, includes only highly trained, professional surgeons who are familiar with the principles and practice of lip lift surgery, so you can rest assured that the work done is very meticulous and subtle. Our surgeons are always careful to use their experience in microsurgery to carefully sculpt the lip area in line with patient expectations.

Treatment for Lip Lines

The best treatment for lip lines is a laser resurfacing procedure for appropriate lighter skin types. Laser resurfacing targeting the peri-oral region can make a dramatic change with a substantial reduction in the vertical lines, also known as ‘smokers lines’. Marked improvement in this region is facilitated by using the laser on aggressive settings to tighten the skin and smoothen out the etched lines. Centre for Surgery uses full field Erbium laser resurfacing, which results in less downtime compared with traditional CO2 lasers.

The downtime from erbium laser resurfacing is around seven days. Laser resurfacing can easily be performed in the office with topical numbing cream such as EMLA, cool air and/or numbing injections of Lidocaine.

In general, recovery after lip lift surgery is very smooth. The downtime is about one week. 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 remain swollen and you eat a soft diet for 1-2 days after the procedure.

After one week, the sutures are removed, and you can then apply makeup as normal to hide the incisions as healing progresses. Scar maturation takes up to 6 months, and temporary numbness is often a recognised feature during the recovery period of about 2-3 months.

Over the following weeks, the swelling will steadily go down so that after one month, the area should be healing well. 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 that, 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, if the patient has a history, keloid 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.

Complications can potentially occur with any surgical procedure, a lip lift is no different. At the consultation, your surgeon will always take time to fully discuss the risks and complications associated with lip lift surgery. All risks need to be outlined regardless of how rare they are. By choosing Centre for Surgery for your procedure, you can be confident in having highly experienced and expert surgeons to perform your procedure.

Potential complications associated with lip lift

• Anaesthetic risks
• Asymmetry
• Visible surgical scarring
• Sensory changes
• Excessive scarring
• Nerve injury

There are a number of factors which will determine the overall cost of the lip lift procedure, and the final quotation will be given after your face-to-face consultation with your specialist facial plastic surgeon.