29 Yrs Female- Lip Lift. Baltimore, MD

I have a very long upper lip, I always have. After a septum surgery 2 years ago I became very dissatisfied with my nose. It had been straight facing forward, and had a slight inward curve from a profile view. I also noticed my philtrum looked even longer, but thought it was just me until my sister mentioned it. I was always teased about having a monkey face and duck lips. This didn't bother me much until recently. Up until the nose surgery I have been battling hormonal melasma with no success. It has severely hurt myself esteem. I cannot leave the house with concealing the dark patches on my cheeks, nose and upper lip, which looks like a mustache. Concealing the patches rarely looks nice as it looks gray and dirty under makeup. Anyway with the nose surgery, the surgeon told me it would not change the appearance of my nose, but it did. It's crooked and I have a slight dorsal hump where it used to be curved inward. Between the melasma and nose, I wanted to fix something and the melasma has been a very expensive 5 year struggle. I started looking at rhinoplasties, but was afraid my corrected breathing issues could return. When I saw a lip lift, it seemed like it may help improve my appearance more than the nose job and it was less invasive. I did two virtual consultations with dr. Rodriguez and he thought the lip lift would most improve my look. I didn't want to look different so we went conservative. I hope gives me some satisfaction in my appearance and I can enjoy dressing and going out again like I used to.

I took a Valium and Vicodin prior to the procedure as directed by Dr. R. After the pain med wore off I took an Advil every 4 hours and was comfortable. I iced 6 times for 15 min and took arnica and bromelain and a prescribed antibiotic and steroid. I slept in a recliner. The day after I was even more swollen and my upper lip became tender, dry and peeled.

The swelling is slowly subsiding. Yawning hurts as my mouth pulls and nostrils flare. I hope it doesn't disrupt the incision. I have stopped taking Advil. I still Ice 6 times a day. I
Am starting to develop a yellowish bruise. I have taken baths and washed my face avoiding the incision/glue area.