Rhinoplasty effects on upper lip?

When it comes to surgery, rhinoplasty can affect the look and projection of the upper lip permanently. It is something that needs to be discussed with your surgeon prior to surgery

The only difference between an open rhinoplasty and a closed is the tiny incision across the columella. (And in my personal opinion, making that incision allows for sooo much better of a result, because I can see what's going on!) Anyway, the presence or absense of that 7 millimeter cut can't change what's going on in the lip.

Lip changes can happen, but the risk depends on what's being changed about the nose, and by how much. I frankly don't know what surgical techniques predispose to that risk, because I haven't seen it in person.

So, what to do? I'd be worried about having you address just the upper bridge of the nose, in fear of changing the lip, and ending up with a nose you don't like very much because, for example, the tip is still too wide, or droopy, or projecting. You could look at surgeons' before and after photos of patients who had similar tip changes that you are seeking and see whether you see lip problems in the after photos.

So yeah, be very wary about limiting the operation for fear of changing the lip. Perhaps better to do nothing at all: if you lower/narrow the bridge and leave the tip alone, the tip might be too prominent after surgery in a bunch of ways, and would draw more attention. See?

If you *do* decide to have tip changes, how *much* to elevate the tip, or deproject the nose, or make other changes? We figure that out with morphs, well before surgery. I'd love for you to see some excellent professionally-designed morphs of what could possibly be done with your nose. Morphs could also help you identify better just what's bothering you, and help you set a goal for the rhinoplasty that's accurate for your tastes. Profile and three-quarter views would be particularly important in morphing your nose. (Side note: in my opinion, morphs should really be done by the surgeon, or he should direct an assistant as she makes the morphs. Morphs should be made with a constant eye to what actually *can* be done in surgery, for that particular nose, and the surgeon has that information and judgment best.)

Finally, remember that rhinoplasty is an exquisitely difficult operation to get right, and you should only have surgery if you are able to make yourself very confident in your surgeon's skills. From your description of the issues, the changes that your nose needs require advanced techniques, and skill that most plastic surgeons don't possess with expertise. It's much better to not have surgery than to have inexpertly-performed surgery. Read my essay on how to stay out of trouble while selecting a rhinoplasty surgeon. And it also discusses how to take photos that are best for online evaluations.