Lip lift nose distortion?

Question

I’ve been wanting to get a lip lift , but in so many before and after photos I see the nostrils look more flared and the nasal base looks wider. Nose looks so puffy & swollen. Why does lip lift affect the nose like that?

Jacob Tower, MD · Answer

Hello, hope you are well. That's a great question! I have not seen this, but you may be looking at undesirable outcomes due to surgical technique. By resuspending the upper lip to deep anchoring points (i.e. periosteum), we can avoid distortion of the nostrils and nasal base. Even so, if an overly aggressive skin removal is performed, there may be excessive tension on the wound closure which could cause distortion. 
Best,Dr. Tower

Tim Neavin, MD · Answer

A lip lift should not impact the appearance of the nose.  If any nostril flaring develops (very rare) it can be corrected with a stitch.  Puffiness subsides after 6 weeks.

Jeffrey H. Spiegel, MD · Answer

I think I basically reintroduced the plastic surgery world to lip lifts when I started teaching about them over a decade ago, and I wrote the first papers on nose surgery with lip lift.
We can adjust your nose during lip lift, or, not adjust the nose based upon what you desire when the procedure is done correctly.

Ruslan Zhuravsky, DO · Answer

Hi, This is something I hear asked quiet frequently. I personally have not appreciated these changes on my patients, nor have they complained about them. There are some very important nuances when doing lip lifts, which is why this relative short and “simple” procedure turns out so differently in different hands. When we do a lip lift, we bring the lip up and in, attaching it to the base of the nose. The lip wants to pull back down and out, so that can exude a force with consequences that you are describing. One very important thing to do with lip lift is not just simple to cut away the correct amount of skin, but also to undermine (lift) a fair amount of the remaining skin of the upper lip. This is technique we use in plastic surgery to move skin without creating tension. This must be down to avoid excess tension, which can also lead to a widely gapped scar. The lip must then be attached to the deep, more adherent structures underneath the nose, not the soft mobile structures. These long lasting dissolvable sutures are what really hold the incision closed. Hope that explains it.

Gary M. Horndeski, MD · Answer

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. Right after surgery, the nose will swell and look thicker but will fade in time. The base may look wider as well.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

Lip lift nose distortion?

Answers (5)

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