Can A Subnasal Lip Lift and Lip Implants Be Combined?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in lip implants with a subnasal lip lift.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures and lip augmentation goals. You are not a good candidate for an isolated subnasal lip lift due to having very thin sides of the lips down into the mouth corners. A subnasal lip lift is mainly a central lip  enhancement procedure that leaves the thin sides as they are. This will create an upper lip vermilion disproportion which is seen too frequently in isolated lip lifts. Such a subnasal lip lift would have to be either combined with lateral vermilion advancements or a total vermilion advancement should be done. (which moves the entire vermilion to wherever one wants to put it and is always the most effective procedure in thin lips)

While lip implants add volume that does not equate to more vermilion show. In thin lips because of the lack of vertical vermilion height what results is a horizontal protrusion rather than a vertical elongation…which is one of the causes of ‘duck lips’) Lip voluminization works well when adequate vermilion height already exists. This would be the case in your lower lip where more natural vermilion show exists.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana