Surgical Methods to Widen a Small Mouth?

Dr. Plavic is spot on with his assessment of the limitations of widening a small mouth.  In general, patients should not alter the very delicate commissural structures that make up the corner of the mouth unless they are quite off spec because of the visible scarring and unnatural appearance that a commissuroplasty causes.

However, there are a number of patients who have apparent microstomia.  In fact, the corners of the mouth are simply not visible.  It is a very satisfying procedure to enlarge the lip corners by placing grafts into the lips.  In our practice we like LiveFill grafts, autologous fat-fascial grafts for this purpose.

The name for a small mouth is microstomia. There are surgical options for opening a small mouth but this may leave visible scars. Discuss your concerns with a qualified practitioner. Bew prepared and please realize that these are rarely performed operations and it is unlikely that you will find any one surgeon with extensive experience in this area.