Lip Lift

The average cost of our lip lift is determined on a patient-by-patient basis. Your cost may be higher or lower depending on your personal lip anatomy and desired changes as the procedure is customizable according to your wishes and needs.  We can discuss your cost at the time of the consultation with Dr. Burroughs. Prior to the appointment, you can learn about our financing options through CareCredit® and Alphaeon®.

During the consultation, Dr. Burroughs can show you some lip lift before & after pictures to help you envision what can be achieved with the procedure. If you are not a good candidate for our lip lift, he will recommend alternatives. Younger patients who find that dermal fillers make their lips too pronounced are often excellent candidates for lip lifts.  Further, augmenting the volume and shape of an upper lip with fillers does not adequately shorten the pronounced vertical height of skin between the lip and the nose that many encounter as they ae.

An upper lip lift is a surgical procedure that requires a local anesthesia to numb the area. General anesthesia is not required, but you may choose to have IV sedation. Dr. Burroughs lifts your lips by removing some skin from the area just below your nostrils. This will shorten the aged-elongated distance between the top of your lip and the soft tissue between the nostrils. Although the change seems to be subtle, it will make a noticeable improvement in your lip shape.  This will not enhance the lower lips, which should remain larger than the upper lips and therefore many patients benefit with some volumization and contour enhancement done for the lower lips with autologous fat transfer or dermal filler.

The corner lip lift helps with sagging lip corners, a common problem that develops with age or may be part of the natural appearance of the lips. The procedure involves removing small triangular sections of tissue from just above the outer corners of the lips. The procedure may take 30 to 60 minutes and requires local anesthesia.  Oftentimes, a little dermal filler and strategically placed botulinum neuromodulator (“Botox”) can achieve a pleasing and natural appearing outer lip lift without the need for a surgical incision.

Lip lifts are quite safe procedures because very little tissue is removed or disturbed. The most common risk is infection, and Dr. Burroughs will provide detailed aftercare instructions after your lip lift. The instructions will also include information about how to minimize the use of your lips until the area is completely healed. Although the sutures are very small, there is a risk of pulling the sutures. If the incisions become raised or persistently long they can be injected with small amounts of anti-inflammatories and treated successfully with intense pulse light (IPL) treatments not available at most other plastic surgery offices.

Dr. Burroughs has been performing lip lifts alone or as part of facelift procedures for many years. Recently, the procedure has gained popularity with younger patients who are looking for an alternative to lip augmentation with fillers or lip implants. A lip lift can make your appearance younger and/or more attractive as lips are a very important feature of the face, second really only to the eyes.

All incisions have scars, but because the incision is tucked up just under the nose they usually heal well with time.  Dr. Burroughs utilizes a technique to minimize the scarring, and we offer complimentary services to help with scar healing such as IPL (intense pulse light) treatments.  Rarely, topical or injectable steroids will be recommended.  Always important, is to keep the scar from sun-exposure, which can worsen the healing.