This depends on what is considered downtime. There may be a few days of social downtime, meaning the patient may feel uneasy about being comfortable in social settings. That said, most people can return to work immediately and perform normal, everyday tasks.

• Shortening a long upper lip
• Provides an anti-aging appearance
• Lifting the lip to show some of the teeth promotes a younger appearance
• Can help the patient avoid lip fillers in the future
• Helps to “feminize” the face

The average cost is about $3500, but go all the way up to $6500 depending on the scope of the procedure. The fees include the facility fee, anesthesia, drugs, post-op care, surgeon’s fee and all follow-up visits. Lip lifts are considered elective, so there is no insurance coverage. Many patients choose to use one of our finance partners, CareCredit, Alphaeon Credit and/or PatientFi.

There is no true ideal patient for a lip lift in the minds of our surgeons. It’s our duty to listen to our patients and let them explain to us what their goals are. If a patient explains to us what they want to accomplish, and we feel a lip lift is a good option to help reach that goal, that’s when we’ll suggest moving forward with a lip lift.

The surgeon will take detailed measurements of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the upper lip and lower border of the nostrils. This will determine the area of skin to be excised. The subtle lift of the lip will expose more of the red vermilion of the upper lip, which in turn promotes a more youthful and fuller look. The entire procedure takes about 30-45 minutes and is pain free, thanks to a local anesthetic.

There will be some swelling, bruising and numbness, as there is with every type of surgical procedure. These things usually subside after a few days, but can last longer in some patients. Every patient heals differently. All patients can return to normal activities pretty much immediately. Anything that puts stress on the face or head can cause excessive swelling, so we recommend not working out for at least a week. Cold compresses and Tylenol will help with discomfort. We also ask that all patients avoid tobacco and alcohol for at least a week. The scar will almost completely disappear with a few months.

Usually you will start to see results by the end of the first week when the bulk of the bruising and the swelling clears.

Minor bruising and swelling are most common, but most of the swelling and bruising should be gone within a week. Numbness and visible scarring is rare. Even more rare is temporary altered speech.