Not enough skin taken during lip lift and now lip to small. What are the risks for having a second one? (photos)

Question

I just had a lip lift done and it’s no where near is big as I wanted it. What’s the risks involve having a second one . I’m in second day Stiches . I’m so upset . My surgeon said my skin would be to bunched. I knew we should have took more. Please tell me the best way to go about this again I don’t think fillers are gonna help. Risk Opinions Thanks

Farhad Rafizadeh, MD · Answer

It is fairly common for the patient to be afraid of removing too much and ask the surgeon to remove less that what he would recommend. This has happen a few time when I suggest to remove for example 6 mm and the patient said no I want only 3 mm removed, but they also agree that if they are wrong, they would undergo another procedure and pay another fee to do it. They are sometimes simply too nervous to accept my initial recommendation. There are times when the maximum is removed and there is no more room for additional removal or it would simply not look good to remove more lip. You should talk to your surgeon and if possible come to an agreement to do this procedure again. To reduce the chances of infection, I would wait till the incision is completely healed before proceeding with another procedure.

Kyle Kimura, MD · Answer

First of all, I'm sorry that you are unhappy with your results, I know it can be a very frustrating place to be and as a surgeon, my number one goal is always to make my patients happy. With that being said, I would make sure your surgeon knows about your concerns as they may have certain reasons to leave more skin than you initially thought. 
I would also leave plenty of time to heal and let things settle before making a final decision as the lips tend to swell and can look quite odd for the first few weeks after surgery. 
To answer your question, yes you can have a revision (once fully healed), but the risk for prominent scarring is higher given the area has already been operated on. Additionally, your surgeon must always balance how much skin can safely be removed versus the goal of making the lips appear larger. 
My recommendation would be to let your surgeon know your concerns and go from there. 
Hope this helps!Kyle Kimura, MD

Gary Linkov, MD · Answer

The after photo is very difficult to make out. If you are unhappy with the results I would start by talking to your plastic surgeon. Explain your concerns and hopefully they are addressed. I would consider taking additional skin in the first few days after the procedure if a patient requested it and if I agreed with their concerns. Beyond that I would wait 6 months before reoperating. A secondary procedure will always be possible down the road to remove additional skin. For a revision, I would make sure that you go to a highly reputable lip surgeon with experience in revision cases. Hope that helps.
Gary Linkov, MDManhattan

Robert E. Zaworski, MD (retired) · Answer

Once you are totally healed, a revision can be done, if needed.  Your surgeon probably wanted to give you a minor change.  The opposite problem is over correcting, which could be a disaster.  Be glad he or she is conservative.

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