Lip Lift: Stories

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Lip Lift Surgery - Boston, MA

  • posted 2 years ago
  • updated 9 months ago
  • This is 1 week after,. stitches removed today. I continue to apply aloe and vitamen E
  • This was my lip before
  • 3rd day after surgery, very swollen
  • 11 days after surgery. Worried about the direction of my skin in between my nostrils. Seems different then before
  • Pictures of the scars
  • pictures of the scar
  • showing the scars, my right side is way worst than the left
  • white line ( scar )
  • left side, I wouldn't mind if both sides looked like this
  • hoping you can see the entire scar...

I am 38 yrs old and decided to have this done...

I am 38 yrs old and decided to have this done because my upper lip covers my teeth and it is something I hate about myself because I don't laugh, I just smile because if I laugh, it seems I have no teeth. Needless to say I was teased alot. Had this done hoping my upper teeth will show enough to avoid having lumineers.

I was nervous, still am. I am in my 3rd day, I have a lot of swelling, no pain. I only had to take pain killers the first day. I have read alot about the scarring and started to apply aloe with vitamin E on the scar to help it heal naturally and hopefully, end up with no scarring whatsoever. I rate as good because I don't know the outcome yet. My nostrils look uneven but that is how they were, it's just the swelling magnifies it 10 times.

Went to get my stitches removed today... a bit...

Went to get my stitches removed today... a bit painful. I am still swollen but not as much as I was before. THe past week has been very scare for me since I was afraid I would end up looking like a duck.

It is the 11th day... my lip is looking good but I...

It is the 11th day... my lip is looking good but I believe I am still swollen. I am very nervous now because my daughter keeps saying I look like someone punched me and she mentioned something about my nose. I looked at a picture of me before and after and I can see a difference in the direction of my nose, in the area between my nostrils. I thought my nostrils were weird before but this is something else. I have sent an email to the doctors office asking for their opinion, if this is just swelling or if he stitched me up wrong and if so... how can this be fixed.

It's been 2 weeks now and I am feeling more at...

It's been 2 weeks now and I am feeling more at ease. The swelling has come down alot and I know I still have swelling around my nose which should be coming down within the new few weeks. I have to say if your teeth are tiny like mine, this will not do anything for you so for me, it was not worth it. I will still have to have lumineers done hopefully, next year. My lip looks nicer then before but it has been an emotionally draining experience for me. I was told by the surgeon on my consultation that my teeth would show after this was done but on the day of the surgery he told me it would be minimal. At that point in time I should have not gone ahead with it but I had such high hopes that I did it anyway.

Feeling down, ppl have told me I look...

Feeling down, ppl have told me I look "weird". I could take "different" but "weird" to me sounds like some kind of freak show. I look different, I wanted to change my lip, not my look. I can't pin point it but it's somewhere around my nose area and also my lip changed at the corners which I am now considering the corner lip lift or botox to even it up.That might me one of the things I am also noticing. If you have tiny teeth like me, this isn't worth doing. I'm hating the choice I made, really am. This didn't solve my issue, it just created a new one. Always trust your gut instinct. Learned the hard way. For fuller lips, I would have done something different. I just wanted to have a smile, have my teeth to show but as they say sometimes the remedy is worst than the illness itself.

Photo Update

Great review?

My Doctor: Jeffrey H. Spiegel, MD

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
Staff Professionalism & Courtesy
Payment Process
Wait Times

Dr. S has a casual way of addressing your concerns but he was very professional onthe day of surgery. He makes you feel at ease somewhat, as if this is just something minor, no big deal type of thing. I can't rate his work yet...but will do so with time.

Comments (41)

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Scars take a long time to fade but u have beautiful skin and your lips look beautiful!

Lip2011, You did a super job at showing your scars with the most recent photos post. Hopefully they will be able to do a revision on the scar, especially the side that you said bothers you most. Or if you choose to try tatooing as stated, I hope it will work well. I would greatly benefit from a lip lift. I have some health issues that have prevented me from going ahead with it. I am also not sure if I am ready to exchange one (long, limp lip) for another (scars) as I hypopigment. Many thanks to you and those who share your experience with the rest of us. I really appreciate it greatly.
ok I just private msg you hope you get it
I have the same problem as you when I smile you can hardly see my teeth I was told by a Dentist that having upper maxillary surgery when they bring down the upper jaw would fix it. I do not know if this would be an option for me because it seems like it would hurt alot and I dnt like the idea of having screws. However he also told me that Veneers would not solve my problem that you would not be able to see the teeth. So i was considering a lip lift not so sure now have they told you lumineers would make your smile visible?? I thought I was the only one with this problem just hope I can figure out how to fix it
I say save yourself the money and put it in for the lumineers. I don't know what state you're in but I am in Rhode Island and the average is $800.00 per lumineers. I have a great dentist and one of his employees actually had them and she looks great. Don't go for the surgery. It's not worth your money or the risk and the exposure will be so minimal it won't make a difference at all. Lumineers are not permanent. That is true. You might have to replace them in years to come but I believe they quite some years. I did look at some info as I am typing this to you & I suggest you do more work. I might be giving the wrong info to you regarding lumineers being better then veneers. Do your research. I'll ask my dentist on the next visit which isn't for a while but I definetely would ditch the surgery.
I am in Ks not sure the cost of lumineers or veneers here but has your Dentist said that placing them would help fix the problem I mean like would they be visible when you smile? Mine said that even if he put them on which would make my teeth longer and bigger they would not be very visible because my problem was my jaw needed to be lowered. I definitely need to get a second opinion on this option because I would rather lumineers which I dont think there is a big difference between these and veneers, a hundred times better then a lip lift or jaw surgery. Is there any way you can send me a picture of you smiling I just want to see if your case is anything like mine? Thanks for the information its really apreciated:)
HI Ramos: I don't know anything about jaw surgery but it does sound like major work and as you said major pain. I think a lip lift is more for people who do botox and are looking for something permanent. The jaw surgery sounds very complex. I would say go to a cosmetic dentist, most offer free consultations. See what they say about how much exposure they could give me. As far as a picture of me smiling. I can try but it might take me a while since I have to crop it since I"m here kind of anonymous lol. What I can tell you about my case is that my teeth are little. They always have been since I can remember. The thing is that as I got older, unknown to me, I didn't have an over-bite. My top teeth and bottom teeth align exactly so unknown to me, I had been wearing my teeth out. Eventually my teeth would break. My dentist recommended braces to create an over bite so that then he could place the lumineers or veneers; otherwise, I would break them with my bite. I had gone to another cosmetic dentist who said my lip was low and of course I google everything and found out about the lip lift. I had HIGH, BIG, ENORMOUS hope. Thought it was the answer to my prayers and it was not. I went ahead with the braces and waiting for the treatment to end to continue on to the veneers/lumineers ( not sure anymore) When I smile, you can't see my upper teeth. I look like I don't have any. Embarrassing of course so I smile and laugh with my lips closed and when I find something funny, I turn away from people while in the meantime wishing I could let out a HUGE laugh but I'd look ugly so I stay pretty lol. THe lip lift gave minimal exposure but again I will try to get something to you.
My scars will not tan, I can cover them slightly with makeup but I don't use foundation so it's hard. Thinking about inking them... we'll see
hi damouse8it, I'm so sorry for the late reply. I don't come here often. I uploaded some pictures of what the scar looks like now. How did it go with your surgery?
x
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE STAR RATING ON THIS IS NOT WORKING. I DO NOT GIVE THE SURGEON 5 STARS. OVER ALL EXPERIENCE I WOULD SAY 3. THE OFFICE IN/OUT WAS QUICK, NO WAITING. THE STITCHES DID NOT HEAL WELL, WHICH I CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCARING. I SENT THEM AN EMAIL ABOUT REVISING MY SCAR & THEY SAID THEY WOULD BUT WERE IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING. HAVEN'T HEARD FROM THEM. I CAN'T SAY HE WAS COMPLETELY HONEST. HE KNEW WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR WHICH WAS TO GET ALOT OF TEETH EXPOSURE WHICH I BARELY HAVE ANY & HE KNEW IT WOULD NOT WORK FOR ME BUT HE COULDN'T PASS 3000.00 DOLLARS.
hi damouse8it, I'm so sorry for the late reply. I don't come here often. I uploaded some pictures of what the scar looks like now. How did it go with your surgery?
My scars will not tan, I can cover them slightly with makeup but I don't use foundation so it's hard. Thinking about inking them... we'll see.

It did go well. I am quite happy It took about 1,5 h, was almost painless. They let me watch a movie during the procedure and my doc let me look at the results before he made them final and actually did correct what I had asked him to. The scar was healing extremely fast, I did not need any painkillers, swelling was going down very fast. First 2 days, I looked like from a freaking magazine, since my lips were swollen. I am glad I did it, it was my dream, it all looks different yet still natural. After a week I was freaking out, I felt like not enough skin I had been cut out but now I see, that my doc knew what he was doing. If more skin had been cut, I§d have this drooping mouth corners angry look now. I look good now and am sure, I could not get this look with a filler, ever. I cannot smile the way I used to, tough. U can barely see the scar and thank God mine does tan, but it sure is there, It's stiff and it makes me self concious sometimes. It sure lets u know it§s there when u drink from straw or wanna smear ur lipsticks doing the mouth move. The procedure does make ur nostrils bigger, so I got mine done too. It gave me new, younger look, but I do have scars in the middle of my face. I feel like covering it with make up makes is more visible, I'd say, because the scar is a wrinkle that soaks up ur makeup and makes a line there ?? Lorea'l Perfectionist primer that fills it helps tough. The whole thing took 6 visits and was $2800 her in UT with Dr. Scot Haupt. The procedure did not give me what I had expected but that is not the surgeron's fault. I expected my upper lip to be shorter for younger look ( which sure is) and also the upper lip to be taller/thicker by rolling the lip up and out a bit. The procedure just pulls up what u have got, if u know what I mean.It rolled up maybe a millimeter of my lips, but not even close to what I saw when I was playing with it planning this procedure. The little portion of wet part of my lips that has been rolled up and is exposed to air now has been drying, peeling and just annoying the heck out of me so I have been picking on it, I just can't help it. Matte lipsticks make the situation even worse. I believe my body will adjust to it. This procedure is not worth it if u can't live with the downside of it. It was to me, because I am a diva and this has been my dream and I do look better.

I'm glad you are happy. Post some pictures so we can see the before and after.
I'm having mine done this Fri. I'm kinda scared now, hasitating on doing it after I red about your white scars. Do u still have them? Can u cover them w/ make up?.. Will u ever tan there, u think? Thanks?
Thank you Pixieintown but my scars did not show much after the surgery but now they do. I can see exactly when the surgeon did the incisions and I have like 2 little white scars very noticeable under my nose. The lip lift is minimal, I'm used to doing a pout if you will so it's more my pout I think that shows. My lips are thin so from my teens I learned to do a pout to make them look fuller and it kind of stuck with me as a habit. I'm happy that it wasn't worst but not happy with the results but thank you for your comment : )
Hi Lips, I can understand your concern, even the smallest change on the face seems huge. But as from the pics, you look great! and the change in direction of the columella hardly noticeable and maybe due to the residual swelling..and the upper lip, very natural! be happy :D
You look good from your pictures.. sweetheart why do you say its not worth it?
The scar didn't look bad when I took the picture. It looks much worst now and the reason for doing the lip lift was because my teeth are too little and don't show when I smile and $3,000.00 dollars later they still don't show when I smile. I'm still going to have to go with porcelain veneers in my front teeth. Should have applied those $3,000.00 dollars to them instead. I did have high hopes from what I had reviewed and the questions I asked the surgeon so I was very hopeful and was very disappointed but thank you for your comment : )
Hi lip2011, Now that you've had more than 6 months of recovery, do you still think it wasn't worth it? I'm considering lip lift surgery because my teeth don't show when I smile. Do your teeth show up now?
Hi Considering: They barely show. You will gain about 1 cm I believe with the lip lift. I would say forget the lip lift, I spend 3,000.00. You can get almost 3 veneers at that price and just save for another 2. Each veneer is like $800.00. That's actually what I'm going to end up doing anyhow and I don't believe the lip lift is worth it. I have scars, they look like 2 little white sticks on the bottom of my nostrils. When I have time I will post a picture for you. I would say maybe everyone has their own experience but I would not risk it. I still feel weird when I smile. Good luck and best put your money to better use.
Hi Zoe:

It is so much better now, I saw pictures of myself from before and it was slightly deviated. I think from a car accident I was involved in a looong time ago but the swelling just made it so much more visable. I can say I am back to normal. Took some time, was traumatized for a while lol. Now the scar is visable. The scar can be seen on one side only, the other side is very nice. At this point, I am thinking about going to a tatoo place where they can "color" in the scar since it's whiter then my skin so they can put in a color that blends in. I would not recommend my surgeon though.
Hi lip2011, thanks for sharing your experience with us. People like you make this site extremely valuable.

Is the skin direction problem much better now? Could you update?

Zoe
Thank you Ville331.... I am feeling more like myself now. I think I was very self conscious about how I looked and that is why I went through all that chaos but thank God that I am now back to my self :)
Thank you for your comment and have a great one!

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