Ask a doctor

Numb and Stiff Lips After Lip Lift

Last year, I had a Lip Lift. Besides removing skin, the doctor removed a strip of my orbicularis oculi (OO) muscle, then sewed the muscle to the bone behind my nose. Now, my upper lip hangs lower than it did before my surgery, and it barely moves and is stiff. I am wondering, if by accident, the doctor cut my depressor septi muscle when he removed a strip of the OO muscle. I can't lift the center of my lip from one philtrum column to the other. The lip is like dead weight and is completely numb. I am very depressed over this. Do you think that I can be helped?

Doctor Answers 1

Lip lift stiffness

May 3rd, 2009
{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

This is a difficult question to answer and it seems as if the facts are not completely clear.

It is unlikely that your surgeon removed the orbicularis oculi. It is far more likely that he/she removed a portion of the orbivularis oris muscle.

In any event, this can be stiff for some time following the procedure.

Discuss this with your surgeon. He/she may advise massage therapy to promoted mobility, etc.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
May 3rd, 2009

Lip lift stiffness

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

This is a difficult question to answer and it seems as if the facts are not completely clear.

It is unlikely that your surgeon removed the orbicularis oculi. It is far more likely that he/she removed a portion of the orbivularis oris muscle.

In any event, this can be stiff for some time following the procedure.

Discuss this with your surgeon. He/she may advise massage therapy to promoted mobility, etc.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
*Treatment results may vary

Related content

View all Lip Lift reviews

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.