Lip Augmentation

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in lip augmentation. I have very thin lips with no upper lip shape at all. I have tried fillers but they don’t make enough change. I think lip implants may be a better choice. I have attached pictures of my lip to you can see what I mean by having no upper lip shape.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. When you have lips as thin as yours, with no Cupid’s bow shape at all, no type of volume addition is going to create a pleasing outcome. Lip implants will fare no better than that of injectable fillers. This is how patient’s end up with so called ‘duck lips’, where the volume just pushes outward but not upward. You need more vermilion exposure or enhancement. The only effective procedure for your thin lips is a vermilion advancement lip augmentation procedure. This is where the red part of the lip is moved upward by skin removal, increasing the size of the upper lip and changing its shape permanently. This also allows for a nicely shaped Cupid’s bow to be created which is the hallmark of a pleasing upper lip appearance.