Possible to Reshape and Change the Lips?

Question

I'm a male with large lips. I understand reduction is possible but to what extent is it possible to dramatically reshape or reconstruct appearance to make them thinner and more masculine?

Glenn Vallecillos, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello and thank you for the question.

	Lip reduction and reshaping surgery is indeed possible. The procedure can generally be done awake with light sedation, or in more involved cases, under a general anesthetic. It is important you consult with surgeon who has a lot of experience in lip rejuvenation surgery.  I recommend consulting with a Board Certified Plastic or Facial Plastic Surgeon to maximize your chances of attaining an optimal result.

	Kindest Regards,

	Glenn Vallecillos, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

Lip reduction can be performed in the office under local anesthesia, or under general anesthesia in an outpatient setting.  it is a safe and very effective procedure, and scarring is usually placed inside the lip so it is not visible.  I recommend seeing a board certified plastic surgeon who is familiar with this surgery.

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

Lip reduction surgery can usually reduce the size of the lips by about 20% to 25% in my experience as a one-time surgery. Tissue is removed from the dry vermilion back to the wet mucosa for the reduction. You must be very careful to not initially over reduce them as they can look both unnatural and there is no way to recover from lips that are too thin or distorted. This is done as an outpatient procedure under IV sedation and local anesthesia. In some cases, I have needed to perform a second stage reduction to get the patient the maximal reduction that they want,

Richard Galitz, MD, FACS (in memoriam) · Answer

The lips can be thinned dramatically usually with internal incisions, I would avoid any incisions on the outside of the lips because they always show and look unnatural. While thinning of bulky lips (fullness) is quite easy, the changing of the shape of the lips is more challenging.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD (retired) · Answer

Yes, a Cheiloplasty or Lip Reduction can be done to reduce the size of the lip(s). The amount of reduction is determined by removing mucosa and/or sections of the lip muscle through an incision on the inside of the mouth. Obviously, there is a limit to the amount that can be reduced and if asymmetry exist, more can be removed from sections of the lip. The procedure can be done under IV sedation or a general anesthesia and takes about 30 minutes. Dissolvable stitches are used and the lips may be swollen for several weeks depending on the extent of the reduction.

Lisa Lynn Sowder, MD (retired) - Account Suspended · Answer

This is tricky surgery but can often be done and the incision can sometimes be limited to the area of the wet/dry vermillion transition area where it would not leave a very obvious scar. I would shot for a modest improvement in contrast to a huge change. You don't want to end up with overly thin lips that may not look good with the rest of your facial features.

Edward J. Domanskis, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

Lips can dramatically be reduced, reshaped. This I do under local anesthesia in most cases in the office with minimal downtime for the patient. Reduction I do by removing lip tissue on the inner aspect of the lip(s) so the scar is usually not visible.

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