By Doctor Vincent Masson
The aim of the upper lip lift is to recover the natural curve of the lip and lift it without necessarily enlarging its volume in an excessive way, which would give an artificial-looking result that is a tell-tale sign of cosmetic surgery.
The upper lip lift is a cosmetic surgery procedure initially described more than 30 years ago. Despite this, the procedure is still relatively unfamiliar to both surgeons and patients. In recent years, the technique has been rediscovered and updated. Once the technique has been mastered, the procedure is quick, the after-effects of surgery are minimal and the results are natural-looking and long-lasting.
Certain patients have a thin upper lip with very little definition, which makes the face look sad and harsh (pinched mouth, teeth always hidden). In patients with a thin upper lip, the area above the lip (“white lip”) is often too long, which only serves to accentuate this appearance. A fleshy, well-defined lip with nice contours makes the face look less sad, more radiant and more sensual.
Lip procedures are often viewed badly by the general population because they bring to mind certain cases of extreme injections, which have given cosmetic surgery a bad name. Swollen, caricature-like lips should not be the objective. Cosmetic surgery should always look natural.
Three techniques that are traditionally used to shape the upper lip
Injections of hyaluronic acid, an absorbable product, increase the volume and definition of the lips.
Lipofilling. Fat is harvested and reinjected into the lip after purification. The main difference between fat and hyaluronic acid is that injected fat is not reabsorbed by the body and therefore the results are permanent.
Silicone implants.
A lip lift is an altogether different technique. The aim of this procedure is to shorten the area above the lip (which is too long), lift the thin upper lip, reshape it and give the mouth a more sensual appearance.
Unlike injections and silicone implants, which create volume inside the lip that, in certain cases, risks creating an unnatural appearance by further increasing the length of a long “white lip”, the aim here is not to increase the volume of the lip but rather to alter its position and make it stand out by balancing the lip better with the face’s proportions. In this way, the result is more natural, as long as the surgical indications are correct: The lip must lack definition and the area above the lip must be too long in order for a patient to require this procedure.
The technique involves removing a crescent of skin level with the wings of the nose, inside the nostril and at the base of the columella. The scar is hidden in an area of natural shadow and is therefore invisible. We can remove up to 10mm of skin. So that the result lasts a long time, the skin is attached to the cartilage of the nasal septum or the anterior nasal spine.
The procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic or light sedation and lasts around 30 minutes. Patients are required to stay in hospital for a few hours. The after-effects are short-lived and pain is minimal. There might be a little swelling in the lip for a week or so.
By Doctor Vincent Masson
Cosmetic surgeon in Paris. Former Paris Hospitals resident surgeon and clinic head; medaille d’or award for surgery; trained in the most prestigious university hospitals in Paris, both in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.
