Do I Need A Corner Of The Mouth Lift After My Lip Lift?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I recently had a subnasal lip lift which I am pleased with the lift in the center of my lips. Now however, it seems to accent the thin corner of my liplips. Aesthetically to balance out the look, I think this is something that should have been done too. Can a corner lip lift be done with local anesthesia?

A: The subnasal lip lift in the right patient is a very effective lip augmentation procedure but it will only affect what lies within the skin excision pattern. By dropping down a vertical line from the sides of the nose to the lip, the lip area improved will only lie within. In essence, it shortens the amount of vertical skin between the base of the nose and the upper lip and only provides accentuation of the cupid’s bow of the upper lip. It would not be rare to a have a lip lift patient turn their focus to the sides of the lip and the mouth corners thereafter.

The key question about changing what was not improved by the lip lift is defining the exact area of outer lip deficiency. This could be either an isolated corner of the mouth lift or an extended corner of the mouth lift that extends further up along the sides of tails of the upper lip. This distinction is critical to understand. An isolated corner of the mouth lift will just change the angle of the corner of the mouth and will not make it thicker. A extended corner of the mouth lift or an outer lip advancement will make the sides of the lip fuller.