Lip Lift

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like to get a lip lift but I also will get a rhinoplasty with a different surgeon I have already paid to do. My question is should I get the lip lift first and then rhinoplasty or the opposite way?i don’t want to get them together. The surgeon will reduce nostril size during the nose surgery so is a bit more complex than a normal rhinoplasty. Thank you.

A: The debate of whether to do a lip lift with a rhinoplasty or to do to separately is a constant one for which there is no clear consensus. But since you are doing them separately there is also a debate about which order they should be done in. I am not convinced that which one is done first really matters. But since you are going to do nostril narrowing as part of your rhinoplasty (which is actually fairly common) I would do want the rhinoplasty first. Then have the lip lift 3 to 6 months later. The concept for this order is that the scars from the nostril narrowing can first be established which are usually just inside the alar base on each side.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana