Many celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie, are well-known for their prominent and attractive lips. That’s because when your lips are full, they contribute to the overall balance and allure of your face. Many people, particularly those around or past middle age, notice that their lips have become thinner and less noticeable. We offer lip vermilion advancement at our facial plastic surgery practice in Scottsdale, AZ, as a surgical option for boosting the appearance of your lips.
Vermilion
This is a weird French-sounding name for the colored portion of your lips. The tissue is thin with a lot of blood vessels present. The vermilion border is the line just above the colored portion that connects the lip tissue to the rest of your face. As you age, your lips experience a loss of soft tissue, resulting in thinner lips without height or definition. Combined with skin damage from UV exposure, wrinkles, or scarring, this tissue loss contributes to an aged appearance.
How do they surgically make your lips bigger?
For this lip enhancement procedure, the lips are numbed to protect the surrounding nerves. Next, an incision is made along the vermilion border. The surgeon will remove a predetermined amount of skin above the upper lip and/or below the bottom lip. This amount of skin to be removed will be decided upon during the consultation and pre-surgery appointments using input from the patient and the doctor’s expert opinion.
Once the extra skin is removed, the vermilion is pulled outward and upward, then sutured into place over the area. The shape and size of the lip will be created at this stage, again using the patient’s desired results and the doctor’s abilities.
You can browse some of my patients’ lip enhancement before-and-after photos to see the types of results we can achieve with the procedure.
How long does it take a lip lift to heal?
The patient will feel some initial tightness and discomfort along the incision, but this will soften and fade away over the next several weeks. Most patients are able to return to their daily routines immediately following the procedure, though rigorous activity should be avoided for seven to ten days. Sutures are generally removed after about a week. Patients can use lipstick or other makeup products to conceal the incision while it heals.
As with all plastic surgical procedures, lip advancement comes with some risks. These are very minimal and include infection, noticeable scarring, asymmetry in your lip shape, or tightness in your lips. To reduce the likelihood of these risks, choose a surgeon who is qualified and has experience in the procedure.
Can I get fuller lips without surgery?
Yes, sometimes nonsurgical dermal fillers can be utilized to reduce wrinkles and give your lips a more natural-looking appearance. Some patients, however, require more than vermilion advancement surgery to get their lips to look the way they desire, including permanent implants. To counter more severe aging effects, an implant can be used to create the body of the lips. This is a permanent surgical option to create the size and shape of the lips you want. To learn about all of your lip enhancement options, take a look at our related blog post.
Choosing the Right Doctor
Lip advancement surgery requires a surgeon who is experienced, precise, and careful with their work. It should be someone who is board-certified and possesses a great deal of knowledge on the type of surgical and non-surgical procedures or tools available.
Dr. Todd Hobgood is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon in surgical and nonsurgical procedures. He graduated first in his class from the Ohio State University School of Medicine before setting up his private facial plastic surgery practice near Phoenix. He is nationally recognized by his peers and, more importantly, by his patients for his work in plastic surgery for the face, head, and neck.
Schedule a Consultation With Dr. Hobgood Today!
If a lip vermilion advancement procedure interests you, please contact our office at (480) 214-9955 to schedule an initial consultation or use our online contact form to request a consultation. We are open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
During your consultation, you can discuss your options for surgery with Dr. Hobgood and make a joint decision on the kind of procedures needed to get you your desired results. To get a better idea of the kind of care Dr. Hobgood provides to his patients, check out our patient testimonials or read patient reviews on RealSelf.com.
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