Corner of Mouth Lift
‘Thank you very much for my corner of mouth lift. My mouth has changed now. I came home from United States last week and my friend saw me with my new mouth and she was amazed. She said to me that my mouth is marvelous and is much better now. She was happy and told me that my smile is much improved. A big thank you for the operation on my mouth corners. I am very happy and am feeling much better as my mouth was getting very droopy in the past few years.’
Gwen H.
United Kingdom
Commentary
While many plastic surgery operations make big changes in how one’s face looks, few operations that are so small can make such a big difference as the corner of the mouth lift. The mouth that turns down, either from how it naturally developed or from aging due to the descent of surrounding tissues, makes one look sad or even mad. This appearance is usually quite contradictory to how one actually feels but the droopy mouth corners create that impression nonetheless. While Botox and injectable fillers can help push up the downturned mouth corners they offer only temporary fixes…and if not done well the mouth lifting effects can be less than desired. A corner of the mouth lift offers a permanent fix to the sagging mouth corner by removing the skin overhang and changing the position of the mouth corner (commissure) upward. Small scars at the corner of the mouth result from the lift but, if well placed and not overdone, they are not a long-term aesthetic issue. When done as a stand alone procedure, corner of the mouth lifts are done as an office procedure under local anesthesia.
While the corner of the mouth lift seems new, it is really an old procedure that was done long before Botox and injectable fillers were even in development. When there was no other way to change the corner of the mouth but skin excision, the old’ valentine’ corner of mouth lift was done. (the skin excision pattern was shaped like a heart)
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana