How Can I Fix A Subnasal Lip Lift That Left Me Looking Sad?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I has a bullhorn lip lift and have downward turned corners that make me look sad now. Did not look like that before the lip lift.

A: A subnasal lip lift is essentially a central lip procedure that largely affects the underlying Cupid’s bow area. While it is commonly believed by some surgeons and patients that it affects the whole way to the mouth corners that is not an anatomically correct perception. While some people can have an isolated subnasal lip lift that is only effective when the size of the lips are naturally fuller all the way out to the mouth corner. In your case, you never had much vermilion show laterally, so it would be expected that you would get more of an A-frame deformity by performing a subnasal lip lift alone. The more effective approach would’ve been a combined subnasal lip lift with lateral vermilion advancements to have a complete mouth corner to mouth corner lip augmentation effect.

But just because it was not done initially you can still have it done secondarily to create a more complete upper lip, augmentation result.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon