As shown in the pictures, the middle part of my upper lip very droopy and has a lot of volume, whereas the sides of my lip have no volume. How can I make the middle part less droopy and make the sides more voluminous? Overall, I just want my upper lip to have a straight line so that when I smile, my teeth are showing equally. Will I be able to acccomplish this through lip injections? Thank you
Answer
My recommendation would be to consider a lip augmentation. This can be done with off the shelf fillers such as Juvederm or using your own fat. Juvederm has the benefit of being a relatively quick procedure with no down time, but has to be repeated every 3 to 6 months. Fat grafting is a more involved procedure. It also is associated with little to no down time but the procedure is more time consuming and therefore costs more. The advantage of fat is that it can be permanent.
Dr. John M. Rowley, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
You caould have a modest reduction in the skin and volume of the middle of your upper lip. This can be done from inside the lip.
Dr. Jason Hess, MD
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Answer
Thanks for the question and thanks for the photos as well. I think the first thing that you need todo is to make a consultation with a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon to learn what the best treatments options are for you. We understand the anatomy of the area in question and can work with you to determine the best treatment options are for you. The use of fillers will probably work best here with the proper injector to keep the natural look that we all want to have in the lip areas. The HA fillers work best here – and most commonly we use Belotero or the new Restylane Silk in this area.
Answer
The safest way to change the shape of your lip is to use a small amount of Juvederm. This can easily and effectively augment the shape and volume of your lip. I would advise against surgery as the results can lead to scars and unhappy results, especially at such a young age. Please consult a board certified dermatologist with a great deal of experience with cosmetic lip injections for the best results.
Answer
While injectable fillers may be a good starting point, it is not what you are going to do on a long-term sustained basis. In addition, fillers can only add volume to the sides to match the central fullness which is already too much. Ultimately a central upper lip vermilion reduction done horizontally combined with V-Y mucosal rollouts on the sides will be needed to create a more even upper lip smile line.
