POSTED UNDER Lip Lift Reviews
Lip lift performed by Dr. Rodriguez
UPDATED FROM captaincrunch
4 months post
4 months post surgery!
captaincrunchMarch 23, 2016
WORTH IT$4,000
It's been a little over 4 months since my lip lift with Dr Rodriguez and I cannot express how happy I am that I took this step towards my self confidence! I am attaching a before and after pic for you all to get an idea as to how my before can be compared to my after!
UPDATED FROM captaincrunch
3 months post
3 months!
captaincrunchFebruary 24, 2016
February 20th made 3 months since my upper lip lift! I know I haven't been updating as I wanted to, but once I was able to be out in public more and around my friends and family more, I got swallowed by my normal routine.
Let's see.. Right now at this very moment, I still feel a very slight sting near the bottom of my nostrils but I would say my nose is 90% back to what it looked like pre-surgery. My incision towards the bottom middle of my nose is still a little tight and I cannot smile completely full yet. The space between my nose and lips is not as near as tight as it used to be a month ago. Usually in the morning I'm 25% more puffy (which I love) but by mid afternoon it feels pretty settled in. I am SO HAPPY I went through with this procedure and I'm happy with the surgeon I chose as well. I have always been insecure about my distance and mouth area and even after braces I still didn't feel 100%. My lip lift has allowed my confidence to fully flourish! While the recovery is not as black and white as I wanted to believe it was, but it was and still is worth it! I will attempt to take some pics for you guys to see the changes, only because I know how much other RS members' pictures helped me make one of the best decisions for myself! Although I feel pictures cannot fully show the enhancement and improvement as much as I can feel it and see it, in person .. They sure will give you an idea as to the changes that were made. I was concerned about how my face would feel after repositioning my upper lip, but it feels very natural! I had a few hiccups with my incision- a few tiny pimples popped out that caused a little microscopic distortion along my incision, it still looks undetectable with or without make up! I hope my written update helped and I will be posting pics this week! I'm so grateful for every one who reached out to share words of encouragement and support!
Let's see.. Right now at this very moment, I still feel a very slight sting near the bottom of my nostrils but I would say my nose is 90% back to what it looked like pre-surgery. My incision towards the bottom middle of my nose is still a little tight and I cannot smile completely full yet. The space between my nose and lips is not as near as tight as it used to be a month ago. Usually in the morning I'm 25% more puffy (which I love) but by mid afternoon it feels pretty settled in. I am SO HAPPY I went through with this procedure and I'm happy with the surgeon I chose as well. I have always been insecure about my distance and mouth area and even after braces I still didn't feel 100%. My lip lift has allowed my confidence to fully flourish! While the recovery is not as black and white as I wanted to believe it was, but it was and still is worth it! I will attempt to take some pics for you guys to see the changes, only because I know how much other RS members' pictures helped me make one of the best decisions for myself! Although I feel pictures cannot fully show the enhancement and improvement as much as I can feel it and see it, in person .. They sure will give you an idea as to the changes that were made. I was concerned about how my face would feel after repositioning my upper lip, but it feels very natural! I had a few hiccups with my incision- a few tiny pimples popped out that caused a little microscopic distortion along my incision, it still looks undetectable with or without make up! I hope my written update helped and I will be posting pics this week! I'm so grateful for every one who reached out to share words of encouragement and support!
Replies (3)
February 27, 2016
Thanks for the update! It's very helpful. Can't wait to see the new pictures.
April 2, 2016
Thanks for sharing! I just had this done and I have a question. I looooove your results btw. I am loving how plump my lips are now but I know they are swollen and they will go down a bit. I only got it done 3 days ago! My question is how much smaller do they get as the swelling wears off. Also I had tooth show right after the surgery but that disappeared because my lips are so swollen right now. When your swelling disappeared did you have the same tooth show as right after the surgery? Thanks! :)
April 2, 2016
Thank you so much! And congratulations to you! I have to say it does reduce I would say.. 25-30%. My tooth show was amazing the first month then it started to subside as the swelling went down - but my teeth start higher than most I want to believe. My tooth show was more obvious in the beginning than now.. It shows a lot more when I speak than when my mouth is at rest. Usually in the morning when my top lip is "perkier" it shows more than at 6pm in the afternoon! Hope I was able to help! Best wishes to you!
April 2, 2016
Ahhh thanks. In concerned about it because my teeth are little as well, pretty short lol and right now they're not showing but my lip is still swollen. Right after the surgery they showed a tiny bit :) I'm hoping my nose goes down, it's sooooo swollen. That's my only concern right now haha
UPDATED FROM captaincrunch
24 days post
Day 24
captaincrunchDecember 14, 2015
Healing slowly but surely but I noticed a pimple right where my incision closes and I'm getting kind of nervous! I uploaded a pic (forgive the condition of my skin) I hope any one can tell me whether it's something I should or shouldn't worry about! Thanks in advance!
Replies (5)
December 14, 2015
Could be a loose stitch. Call Dr. R's office if you are really concerned. He did mention to me that if an internal stitch pops, the skin above can become uneven. Dr. R and his staff area great about answering the phone. Are you having any pain at all? For the last three days, I've had a dull pain in the corners of my nostrils, at the outside edge of the incision. It's particularly uncomfortable if I move my lip a bit more than usual. I wonder if this is normal as my swelling goes down and range of motion increases, but eating sandwiches, which didn't hurt last week, now hurts. As does stretching my mouth in any other way, like to brush teeth. I still feel like smiling takes a lot of effort. I can smile to one side, but not engage both corners simultaneously. What about you? How's your tooth show, by the way? I remember seeing you say that you were losing some. Is that still the case?
December 15, 2015
Thank you for reaching out! I called kelly and she said it could be a suture or maybe a pimple! She advised me to email her a few photos and that Dr R or herself would call me back to advise - I'm hoping its a pimple because I usually break out right before "my time of month" and I haven't been able to properly cleanse those areas of my nose (around my incision) so it's possible that there's some build up of oil and a pimple formed :( it's still fairly sore and tight around my incision. It definitely throbs and stings on a daily basis, and the incision is tender and sore still. When I touch at the base of my nostrils , it feels hard! I've been gently massaging around my incision which I was told I could start doing but I don't know if I'm doing it right! When I try to form a full smile, it's still restricted around the incision area and feels sore as I try to stretch it out; and my nose area looks as feels weird as I try to smile as well! - which I feel is a major give away still. I haven't been able to open my mouth entirely to eat a big sandwich unless it's flattened like a panini! My tooth show has decreased a little as my mouth is relaxed but not entirely! I love it when I'm speaking and I still hope I have a little more swelling to lose!
December 17, 2015
Hi! Well he did call me back and said that it looked like a white head/pimple and that when the pores are getting adjusted to the incision and things have been rearranged it can cause oil build up which is prob what caused the pimple. He advised to keep it dry versus moist by cleaning it with alcohol and/or anti-acne cream! It has been going down - but not completely gone!
December 15, 2015
It is probably a suture. I had the same thing. There is a good chance that the area around it will have a slightly thicker scar as a result. As for the hardness at the base of the nose and the tightness, I am 3 months out and still have that but not quite as bad as in the beginning.
December 17, 2015
Hi! Thank you for reaching out! Thank God it wasn't a suture but what do they generally look or feel like? Will it feel like a stitch sticking out? He did say I have 2 permanent stitches - whatever that means. The hardness and tightness feels a bit weird and I didn't anticipate it would still be so present after this long, because it does affect my smile, but I guess that's what comes with the territory! What I also noticed was 2 little spots where I have grooves where my incision doesn't look completely closed ! I have to reach out to the office for more info. I read that happens often to some people but I would love to learn on how to fix that while I'm still pretty early in recovery! Seen your side by side pics and you look amazing!! Thanks again for your feedback and sharing your experience!! Best wishes always
December 18, 2015
In my case, a suture felt like a tiny, very thin, plastic thread working its way out. It poked out just a bit under a nostril. When I went to see the doctor about it, he didn't pull it out, like I thought he would. He just snipped it with scissors right at the base, leaving the rest of it inside of me to, presumably, dissolve over time.
The groove you are describing also seems to be common. I had a little bit of that on one side of the nostril while the other side had none of that. The result is that now were I to stretch my nose to one side so you could examine the incision area, you would see a wee bit thicker line on one side and absolutely no line (scar) on the other side where there hadn't been any kind of gap. I think what happened is that the groove area eventually filled in with scar tissue. That is my guess. I wouldn't be surprised if my fussing with that area, pulling it down to examine it too often, contributed to my body laying down scar tissue. I was told the first six months, that is what the body does. The 6 months after that, the scar tissue thins out, getting lighter as well.
The groove you are describing also seems to be common. I had a little bit of that on one side of the nostril while the other side had none of that. The result is that now were I to stretch my nose to one side so you could examine the incision area, you would see a wee bit thicker line on one side and absolutely no line (scar) on the other side where there hadn't been any kind of gap. I think what happened is that the groove area eventually filled in with scar tissue. That is my guess. I wouldn't be surprised if my fussing with that area, pulling it down to examine it too often, contributed to my body laying down scar tissue. I was told the first six months, that is what the body does. The 6 months after that, the scar tissue thins out, getting lighter as well.
January 23, 2016
I had used scar gel that stuck to the area over where the suteres were and when I peeled off the dried gell, a stitch poped out. The doctor told me to clean a pair of sisors with alcohol and trim it which I did. It's been over a month and the "pimple" has shrunk. I don't know if it had to do with all the anti-inflammatory supplements I took, but it's almost gone.
January 23, 2016
It could be a suture but also keep an eye out for infection. I would recommend to send this picture to your doctor.

Replies (5)