There are many injectable options for temporarily enhancing the lips and the areas around them. Hyaluronic acid-based fillers (e.g., Juvaderm, Restylane) are the most commonly sued currently and can last up to six months. Even fat injections can be used but they have an unpredictable amount of volume survival in the lips and may even last than the injectable fillers if resorption is complete.
For long-term results, there are lip lift procedures that produce a permanent solution. These are best used in either the patient whose teeth aren’t visible when they smile, whose lips have gotten longer with age, or those patients have such thin lips that lip fillers make them look more ‘duck-like’. A lip lift can reveal more of the pink part of the lip (vermilion) that is the hallmark of a youthful look. In the procedure, a small piece of skin is removed either under the nostrils or just above the upper lip to produce a three to four millimeter vertical lift of the lip. This is a very powerful technique that consistently works. A lip lift can be performed in the office under local anesthesia. Sutures are removed after a week and all bruising and swelling are gone in seven to ten days.
One cautionary note: scars are a trade-off associated with lip lifts. While they are very fine, they are present nonetheless. In those women who regularly wear lipstick out of the house, this is not usually a big concern. Usually I prefer to trial a patient on lip fillers first, before proceeding with a lip lift. This is reversible, lip lifts are not. This helps ‘qualify’ the patient for a lip lift and ensures that a filler may not be the best option for their lip concerns.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana