Will Perioral Liposuction Help With My Protruding Mouth Appearance?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  I am a 32-year old woman and I have been searching for a solution to my protruding mouth (or perioral mounds)…I have had this all my life, and recently got some filler in my chin to balance out my bottom lip protrusion and also have Invisalign to correct my teeth. However, none of these treatments will get rid of the fat around the corners of my mouth and under my bottom lip. I saw a great case study on your web site and I’m wondering if I might be a candidate for the corner of the mouth lift and perioral mound liposuction. My big concern is that surgery could affect the muscles, leaving irreversible damage. Also, I wanted to comment on the results in the case study were very appealing to me because it appeared that the mouth lift and liposuction actually gave the patient an illusion of dimples, which I think is very attractive.

A: Small cannula liposuction can be done very successfully on the sides of the mouth, known as the perioral mounds. But it can not or should not be done below the lower lip as, not only will not be effective, but may cause injury to the depressor muscles of the lower lip. (as you have correctly surmised)

Tweaking up the corners of the mouth with perioral mound liposuction can certainly create the appearance of dimples as the mound area goes from convex to concave with enough fat removal.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana