Will a lip lift make my downturned mouth worse? (Photo)

Question

I am very interested in getting a lip lift, primarily to reduce philtrum length from 1.6cm to 1.2cm. In the attached photo, you can see that the pink portion of my upper lip has a steep downward slope from the cupids bow. It does not go straight across. Will a lip lift make this downward slope more pronounced? Or is there a technique to pull up the sides evenly, not just creating a steeper middle? (I dont want a corner lip lift either as I find the scarring unsightly.)

Marc Pacifico, MD, FRCS(Plast) · Answer

Dear EvelynMany thanks for posting your question and photograph. An upper lip lift will primarily lift your lip in the central portion (more than at the sides). Therefore, it might be that the downward slope that you describe becomes more pronounced.One further thought, is that you are very precise about the change you are hoping to make. In reality, there is no way any surgeon can give you that sort of predictability of the change that will be made, as everyone's skin and soft tissues will behave differently after a lip lift. I would therefore recommend seeing a Plastic Surgeon with experience in lip lift surgery for an opinion. Good luck.

Sarah Saxon, MD · Answer

The technique that I use can be tailored to the individual. I often need to lift the sides of the lip more than the middle. For you, this is definitely the case. Just be sure you go to someone who is very experienced in the procedure since I see many women who had poorly designed lip lifts. It's really a procedure that is more of an art, so it really takes doing hundreds of them to get good at understanding how much to take out and where. 
Best of luck to you,
Sarah Saxon, MD

Will a lip lift make my downturned mouth worse? (Photo)

Answers (2)