Does Mouth Narrowing Leave Bad Scars?

Q: Dr. Eppley, have a very wide mouth and I was wondering if Commissuroplasty procedure could be performed to reduce the width of my mouth ? 

How bad are the scars from the procedure?Can the scars be hidden ? Does the procedure come with complications? Will there be a need for scar revision?

A: Changing the width of the mouth does require incisions and resultant scars at the mouth corners. Such scarring is the major determinant of whether one should undergo the procedure. Unlike mouth widening (Y-V technique), where the scar lines remain at the vermilion-cutaneous junction, in mouth narrowing (V-Y technique) there is a scar line that trails away from the mouth corner from its original location more lateral location to the new more medial location. Short of the need for reconstruction of traumatic injuries or a congenital deformity I can endorse the mouth narrowing operation as an aesthetic procedure….the visible scar line is not a good tradeoff. 

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon