What happens during a lip lift?
From marking to closure
The operation runs from marking to closure, with the incision at the centre of it. Three direct questions cover the middle of that run:
- Where does the cut sit, under the nose or elsewhere on my lip?
- What closes it?
- What anesthesia is planned?
The sources below describe techniques that differ, so no single account fits every patient.
Incision and closure choices
Judge an operation by its consequences. Ask how the choices made during surgery, including where the incision goes and how it is closed, could affect what you see years later. Two hospital system pages cover the procedure, a lip lift page covering types, surgery, recovery and scars and a cosmetic plastic surgery page on lip lift surgery. Read them to prepare questions for your consultation.
The published literature also covers technique variations. A systematic review of rhinoplasty and lip lift performed together looks at combined surgery. A paper describing a surgical method for a corner mouth lift describes a different lip procedure.
Technique and the aging scar
- Ask which technique your surgeon plans to use and why it suits you.
- Ask who will give the anesthesia.
- Ask how the scar is expected to look as it ages.
Linking each step to the final result
The useful habit is to link each operative choice to its later effect, so ask your surgeon what each step is meant to do for the final result.