Lip Lift Game Changer

I have always had thin lips that were slightly inwardly-rotated. As I have aged they have thinned even further. After my primary rhinoplasty I felt like this was much more noticeable and was throwing my face out of balance.
I tried for a couple years to augment them with various fillers with skilled providers. However, due to the shape of my lips it was always left looking unnatural. The Juvederm indeed migrates upward, so ultimately I was left paying thousands per year for results I was not happy with. I am only 32, so going on like this for decades does not seem viable.
I had another procedure with Dr. Kim last year, and I was very happy with my results and his bedside manner. I had always said I would not get cosmetic surgery in Portland, because it is just not a hotspot for that kind of thing. I had not seen very good results coming from the local surgeons, and it seems that no one was doing lip lifts. I had resigned myself to going to LA if I ever had it done, but the additional cost an inconvenience had always been just too much for me to make work with my schedule and finances.
Dr. Kim is meticulous and has an incredible background. He is also one of the most humble, genuinely kind people I have ever met. The way he treated me with my prior Procedure made me reconsider and discuss a lip lift with him. He did not have many patient examples he could show me out of respect for his patients privacy wishes, but the examples he did have looked great, and I was actually able to talk with someone who had recently had the procedure with him. Her results were incredible, and I decided to go forward.

My upper lip was always thin but I swear it dropped a little further after my rhino. I also had a droopy tip, So once that was corrected it made my top lip look even longer. I was always trying to find ways to pose so that I look like I had some top left, and I had had several rounds of fillers already, but due to the shape of my lip it made it worse not better.

The surgery itself was not too bad. While the local injections hurt, and you can definitely feel your lip blowing up from all the local anesthetic, it doesn’t really hurt. Because you are awake there are some moments where you have to just remain calm where you can tell that your lip has been detached, and you have to just not think too hard about it while the surgeon is working.

my lip was totally massive, and I had seen videos online where the surgeon shows the patient their immediate after results and they say it looks good. Do not expect that. By the time the procedure was over my top lip was already four times its size and the sutures were in. It’s best to just not look for a while. The procedure went smoothly and took about an hour. I felt like Dr. Kim really took his time but he was also confident and not hesitating. Thankfully masks are mandatory right now, so no one was the wiser. I left the office and was able to walk myself home, which is about a half mile away.

I normally do not take pain medication for cosmetic procedures, but a woman that I knew who had had it told me I should definitely take it. That was good advice, and I would advise the same. for some reason by the second day it feels totally different and you don’t need pain medication, or just Tylenol, but the day of you should definitely take the pain pill. I was a little bit surprised by the pain level for this procedure, since it is soft tissue only. From this point forward you will basically look terrifying for a while, so you should just prepare yourself and your loved ones.
The swelling the second day may actually be worse than the day of. Definitely advise making sure you sleep sitting up.