Upper Lip Lift after Premaxillary Implant Removal

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a rhinoplasty where they lowered my columella and used a premaxillary implant at the base of my nose where the incision was in my upper gum line similar to the way you insert them.

I didn’t care for the premaxillary implant and had it removed. I now notice my upper lip is longer and the red part of my upper lip hangs down lower. 

Is this because the premaxillary implant stretched the muscle and skin in my upper lip area? 

What can be done to bring my upper lip position back to where it used to be? 

Would a lip lift work and if so, doesn’t this only address the skin and not the muscle that was also stretched? 

A: Like the method that stretched out the upper lip, you have to do the same to restore it….an intraoral lip tuck to shorten the vermilion and a subnasal lip lift to shorten the vertical distance between the nose and the upper lip. This dual approach would be the most effective approach in lifting the lower lip back up after premaxillary implant removal..

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana