Subnasal Lip Lift and Lateral Vermilion Advancements

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am 21 years old and have always had long philtrum or at least just very minimal teeth show. I have no recession, my teeth are fine and my palate is wide. If I were to get the needed upper lip lift, it would kinda make the outer corners of my mouth sag downwards. Would it be possible to then also get my corners lifted to look normal, after an upper lip lift?

Also, I think all the sagging of my philtrum and upper lip makes my midface look longer than it actually is supposed to be without the excess skin.

So in theory, those two procedures would make the “lip line” or the line created where the lips “seal together”, be moved up, right? Making my midface appear shorter?

I hope this makes sense, if not let me know, so I can try to rephrase it a bit. Also let me know if you need some pictures, to get a better idea of my case.

Thank you very much!

A:It would not be uncommon to do a simultaneous subnasal lip lift and corner of the mouth lift at the same time for the very aesthetic reason you have described. If the corner of the mouthy are already low or downturned they will become more so when the central part of the upper lip is shortened.

Whether it will make your midface appear shorter is less certain. But a subnasal lip lift is one of the few procedures that may potentially have that effect.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana