Lip Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in lip reduction surgery. In your experience, what is the revision rate for lip reductions done on natural (no foreign material) lips? One office I called gave an estimate of “1 in 4 (25%)”, which I think is shockingly high!  What has your experience been, and what is the most common reason a revision is requested by patients?

Also does the lip’s overall shape change much with the surgery? I would like mine to be more M-shaped and curvy, as it’s currently lacking any definition. Or does that require a different procedure entirely?

Thanks.

A: The revisions rate for lip reduction at 25% to 33%, which I consider to be a very realistic and honest number, may seem shockingly high to you but that is the reality of doing aesthetic procedures on the lips. The most common reason for as revision is the desire for more reduction that can be achieved in a single procedure or some minor issues with the scar. In male lip reduction patients, which make up the majority of lip reduction procedures, I would put that revisions rate of 50% or higher. Young male face patients, of which my practice has an enormous experience, are the most challenging and particular of all aesthetic surgery patients.

A lip reduction is a debulking/volume changing procedure not a lip reshaping one. It can not or should one expect any shape change in their lips.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana