Benefits of Upper Lip Lift Surgery

Benefits of Lip Lift Surgery

A popular plastic surgery procedure in facial rejuvenation is known as Upper Lip Lift surgery or Bull Horn Lip Lift.  This is a popular procedure which can greatly improve and rejuvenate the facial appearance of suitable patients who have an elongated philtrum (the area between the lip and nose) or a ‘lower-tooth prominent’ facial appearance.

An upper lip lift procedure can shorten or reduce the length of the philtrum, that area between the nose and upper lip.  It’s known as a lip lift, upper lift lip procedure or bullhorn lip lift.

Dr Richard Sackelariou is an experienced Specialist Plastic Surgeon in Melbourne & Sydney and is a surgical Lip Lift Expert.

How do you know if you need a Lip Lift or a Lip Augmentation?

• Essentially, if your lower teeth show when you talk or smile but your upper teeth are hidden by your upper lip area, then this lip lift procedure may be the best solution for rejuvenating the face and smile.
• Chin Augmentations may also improve that lower area of the face, but each patient is unique, and an in-person consultation is the first step in finding out which type of procedure will be right for YOUR facial anatomy and appearance concerns.
• NOT all patients will be suitable candidates, but for carefully selected patients, the results improve the facial harmony, smile appearance and youthfulness of the lower face.
• Remember, however, that all patients are unique, that all surgery has risks, and that results can vary from patient to patient.

Ask your Surgeon for details during a confidential consultation and proceed only if you feel comfortable and knowledgeable with what the procedure can – and cannot – accomplish.  Consultations are a great place to start exploring what Plastic Surgery of the lip, chin, or under the nose can accomplish for you.

The benefits of an upper lip lift may include:

• Revealing more of your upper teeth to rejuvenate or improve your facial appearance when smiling or talking.
• Giving your smile a more balanced or harmonious appearance.
• enhancing your smile when, prior to the lip lift, the bottom teeth featured overly prominently in the smile.
• reducing the impression of having a protruding lower jawline or lower teeth-line when the upper lift is covered by a sagging or elongated philtrum.
• Improving the ratio of the lower face or balancing out the upper, mid and lower face.
• Allowing the lips to appear fuller or more noticeably plump, especially if further enhanced with lip augmentation using soft-feeling, natural-looking state of the art lip filler injection treatments.

Combining a Lip Lift Surgery with other facial surgery

Upper Lip Lift surgery is NOT only for facial rejuvenation of older patients. Many younger individuals have this procedure performed, including celebrities.

It can enhance the facial appearance and smile.  Men and women of a wide range of ages can benefit from this procedure.

The upper lip lift plastic surgery procedure can also effectively be combined with other facial surgery.

This might include skin resurfacing, lower facelift or mid-facelift, eyelid reduction surgery, chin augmentation and more.

MEGAN LETO MARK HAD A UPPER LIP LIFT WITH A RHINOPLASTY

Celebrity Megan Leto Marx recently posted about her Lip Lift surgery (she also had Rhinoplasty surgery) on her Instagram account.

Here’s an excerpt from her post about her Sydney surgery:

“Why do you look different?” – a question that’s popped up a lot on my socials over the last two months. After a lot of consideration (and excitement), I had rhinoplasty and a lip lift ….I’m preparing a blog to detail my whole experience which will go live next week – so fire away with any specific questions you might have that I can answer! …. ?)

CAN YOU TELL IF SOMEONE HAS HAD AN UPPER LIP LIFT OR BULLHORN LIP LIFT?

The answer is, usually not.  What you notice are the upper teeth and not the lip. But every patient is different and you need to discuss incision lines and healing capacities with your Plastic Surgeon.

Typically the incision lines are placed in a strategic position where they fade into the natural lines or contours of the skin around the underside of the nostrils or nose.

• If you look closely at a person who’s had a lip lift, you may or may not notice telltale signs of a bullhorn lip lift.
• For most healthy patients who heal well, follow post-surgery recovery protocols and who don’t smoke, the incision line after a lip lift will often appear barely visible after it fully heals.

What causes an elongated philtrum that hides your upper teeth when you smile or talk?

Your elongated philtrum appearance may have been inherited – or it may be the result of ageing skin.

• Having an elongated philtrum may result in a slightly elongated facial appearance, contrasted to the facial proportion ratios that beauty research indicates have been aesthetically pleasing across time and cultures. That noted, surgery is serious business and you should never take plastic surgery lightly, even though cosmetic procedures are increasingly popular. Find out more about what to expect, during a confidential consultation with a Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
• Be sure you understand that every patient is unique.
• Recognise that results can vary significantly from patient to patient.
• Understand there are risks to having cosmetic plastic surgery procedures but there are ways you can minimise some of the risks, such as by never smoking and by following your Surgeon’s instructions carefully before and after surgery.
• Find out what YOU can do to optimise your lip lift surgery results and minimise your risks – ask our Patient Care Consultants for details on 1300 264 811
• We strongly recommend you know the difference between Specialist Plastic Surgeons (FRACS) and Cosmetic Surgeons.
• Having your lip lift operation in a hospital is also likely to be safer and more sterile than in a clinic backroom, due to quality monitoring requirements at Australian certified Private Hospitals.

How can a Lip Lift Can Help Rejuvenate the Face or Enhance a Smile – Harmony of Facial Proportions

For many patients, however, facial harmony can be restored through surgical procedures – but it’s important you understand the process, procedure, risks, costs and recovery times.  These will be covered in detail during a no-obligation consultation with a Specialist Plastic Surgeon at our Clinic in Hawthorn East (Melbourne).

The appearance of the smile can be a give away on ageing faces.

• As time goes on, the philtrum – the area between your nose and the edge of your upper lip – can elongated or sag.
• Some people are genetically predisposed to having an elongated philtrum.
• Elongated philtrums often cover teeth and can result in a less attractive smile, as the teeth are either
  • not showing at all, or
  • only the lower teeth are showing
  • giving an appearance of a forward lower jaw or of protruding lower teeth even if they are actually even, only because the upper lip is covering your upper teeth

As we age, our lips lose their plumpness and begin to descend, just like the skin on our face. The white portion of our lips begins to get larger as the red portion becomes thinner. Some people notice their upper lip hangs over the front white teeth both with and without smiling. Fuller lips in better proportion to the face will make you look younger, give you a more “pouty” lip, and give you a more appealing smile