External Medialized Corner Lip Lift Journey - Beverly Hills, CA

Background: I have an upper lip that is not very harmonious with other features nor is it attracitvely shaped. My original upper lip length was 22mm. I had an upper lip lift with Dr Stephen Baker 6 months ago, so it is now 16mm. It was a traditional skin only lift. (For that experience, see my other review.) The corner and side areas of my lips curled under and down and I also had a corner that dipped down, all of which made my smile teepee-ish and a little grim. (For the latter, I had tried filler but it didn't work.) So I wanted to see what I could do to help the side and corners of my upper lip.

Pre Op Exerpeince with Dr Haworth's staff:
Professional, kind and accomodating. No complaints. It was a good experience. They answered quetions, had paperwork ready, helped in any way they could.

Pre Op Experience with Dr. Haworth:
Phone Consult: I first had an initial phone consult with him 8 months ago but ended up going with Dr Baker. Dr Haworth had recommended a series of procedures that were not within my budget and I was nervous about a lip lift that involved muscle hemming. On top of that, I was worried about a doctor who lived in Beverly Hills. I assumed the aesthetic I sought was not part of the Beverly Hills world.

In-person consult: He was professional. Offered his perspective on my previous lip lift with another doctor, which I requested. To wit, he said that Baker did a good job but that had I gone with him, Haworth, he would have been able to take out an additional 3-4 mm from the center and 8mm from the sides and that with his technique he would not have distorted my nostrils. Baker did not want to take out that much at once. Baker wanted to take it in stages. Baker had said he wanted to do an approach where he took off 8mm at first -- but it has since dropped 1.5mm-- and if I still wanted more taken off at one year post op, he would decide if it could be done without nostril distortion.

Dr Haworth believes that the external medialized lip lift he was suggesting I do would make a big difference in my lip's appearance. I felt good about our consult and decided to go through with the operation, which was the next day.

Day of Surgery:
People in the office were nice and processional. Dr Haworth spent an enormous amount of time marking my lips and then he put me under anesthesia for the procedure. It was twilight supposedly but I was completely and totally out. (WIth Dr Baker and the upper lip lift, I had a dental block of some kind and was awake and talking the whole time.) During the operation, Dr Haworth also, at my request, lasered my scar under my nose from previous surgery, which was raised..

I am now a few hours post op and so far so good. My lips are a little sore and achey but I am armed with pain killers so I will use them soon. I was told to expect swelling to increase over next few days. But in comparison with lip lip, this surgery should not take as long to recover.

I am returning to Dr haworth's office in 5 days to remove the stiches.

It's now 12 hours post op and I've had a chance to clean off most of the caked blood and blue pen markings from my incisions and lip. I also have anti-bacterial goop on my lips.

I have to say, I am impressed. The stitches are tiny. Almost imperceptible, except where there is a knot and except at the very corner area. My camera was not able to get in close enough and stay in focus so that you could see what an amazing job he did. I am feeling quite hopeful about the outcome. It might even better than I expected.

The one area that has me puzzled and with no idea what the result is going to be is the very extreme corner. If you check my before photos from the other review, you will see that I had the beginnings of a downward drop that portends those dreaded marionette lines. Fillers hadn't worked. Facelift didn't work. Haworth said he could address them and make them not droop downward. From the looks of things right now, an observer could conclude that I now had a Joker's corner slit. But he assured me that this would not be the result. In the pre-op markings phase he draws a line where the NL fold is and never goes beyond that. When I open my mouth, the corner of my mouth is further in, not at the edge of all that lump stitchy area. I will have to ask him when I next see him to explain what he exactly he did there.

For meds, the office has given me a 5 day course of steroids, instructions to clean with hydrogen peroxide, and I have some mild pain medicine, which is all I need, along with ambien if I need it. I have chosen to do some icing of the upper lip. (Although I worry about the bacteria in the water of the ice. Let's hope the Beverly Hills govt has a govt and good EPA crew that won't let them have a Flint. Although given everyone here is rich, I imagine they won't go the Flint route. But I digress.)

Finally, Haworth fraxel lasered my raised scars from my previous upper lip lift. The incision is a deep red but when I inspect the area, it appeas that he had successfully obliterated the raised scar. But I'll have to see when it heals. I asked him what setting he used and he wrote back, "35/8/8. We can take it up from there to 40/8/8 or 45/8/8, depending on how you're healing. I would not go much higher than that." Given that I am at the 6 month mark (or 5.5 actuallly) I am hopeful that doing this won't cause the body to react by laying down more collagen to build a big scar again. But will just smooth it out.

Just as a refresher, this is a photo of my lips the day before I had the external medialized corner lip lift so you can see the 6mm of inverted upper lip on either side plus the downward groove at the end corner of the lips. You can also see that the first upper lip lift I still there. It is a modest change and I am still considering a second one later. My vermillion show is small and makes me look like I have a small mouth with two slits on either side, which I did not like. Hopefully, this surgery with Haworth will correct that.