Do most doctors anchor the lip skin to the septal cartilage during a lip lift?

After 27 years of exploring, refining and pioneering many lip reshaping procedures, it is without question necessary to stabilize the lip to the deeper structures around the nose during a lip lift . Simply attaching it centrally to the septum often times results in a lepus (rabbit) deformity whereas attaching it laterally on the side of the nose results in a more natural “O” look which is universally more appealing. This concept forms the basis of the OOS concept of lip lifting. Since the lips move hundreds of thousands of times a day, a lip lift needs to be strong enough to resist these challenges to its integrity otherwise scarring, nasal distorsion and disappointing results in term of both longevity and beauty are to be expected.

A lip lift is usually not anchored to the septal cartilage. Also, if your lip distance is 20 mm you should be candidate for a lip lift unless there is contra-indication. A lip lift does 4 things: shortens the distance between your nose and upper lip, increases the mucosa of the upper lip, increases the incisor show and pulls up the corners.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

I've been lecturing on and teaching lip lifts for 20 years. There is no one best way to do it. I'd want to see your face from the front and side with your mouth gently open. A long philtrum is typically one of the best reasons to do a lip lift. Where and when to anchor depends on your needs and goals. I've got several videos about this subject you can review. We typically do this as a 30 minute in office procedure.