Cosmetic Surgery

Lip Lift

FAQs | Costs | Book An Appointment

Upper Lip Lift, Bullhorn lip lift, Subnasal Lip Lift, Gullwing lip lift, Italian lip lift

One of the common changes of aging is length­ening of the upper lip. This could be because of loss of maxil­lary bony volume, stretching of skin and also due to loss of lip volume. This creates the appear­ance of a thin red vermil­lion of the lip and a long upper lip.

This appear­ance can some­times be caused by over use of dermal fillers over a long period which stretch out the lip, giving it an over­long appearance.

The appear­ance of a long upper lip can also be a family trait, that you dislike.

A beau­tiful balanced upper lip, gener­ally has a full, plump red (vermil­lion) show, with a bow shaped centre (Cupids Bow). On the side view a beau­tiful upper lip has a gentle J shaped curve, having less volume in the upper 1⁄3rd close to the nose and more volume in the red of the lip.

Normal lip land­marks of upper lip are as shown below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I a good candidate for lip lift?

The distance between the base of your nose or columella and the upper lip white roll ie the philtral ridges should be between 8mm to 1.5cm for you to be a good candidate.

  • If you want to reduce the height between your lip and nose which causes your lips to look thin and vertic­ally long.
  • If dermal fillers don’t enhance the show of the red of the lips and instead make your lips look ducky. Some patients choose to have the lip lift to replace the need for regular dermal fillers in their lips.
  • If your lips have lengthened with aging and your central teeth no longer show on smiling.

A lip lift can be a very good component of facial femin­isa­tion for a gender-affirming procedure.

Which are the common kinds of lip lift operations?

A Gullwing lip lift leaves a scar just above the junc­tion of the red of the lip and the skin, this type of lip lift is not favoured, due to the risk of poor scar.

Italian Lip lift, the surgeon removes two small pieces of skin from under the nostril, while this op leaves a well hidden scar, it can narrow the nostrils.

The bull­horn lip lift or subnasal lip lift is Dr Prashant’s favoured tech­nique, in this oper­a­tion a bull­horn shaped strip of skin is removed from the base of the nose. The scar is well hidden in the shadow of the nose.

How is the lip lift performed?

This is a day surgery, local anes­thesia oper­a­tion, you will find out more about it in our intro­duc­tion leaflet.

Can I have a lip lift if I have had dermal fillers?

Yes, you can often reduce the need for dermal fillers by having a lip lift. If however the dermal lip fillers have made your upper lip look excess­ively pouty or heavy, Dr Prashant might ask you to have the dermal filler dissolved before the lip lift.

When will I see the results, how long will the results last?

While most lips look better soon after surgery, the true results take about 3 months to stabilise.

The results once estab­lished are long term, gener­ally up to 10 years, but the treat­ment does not stop the changes of aging around your lips and face.

Approximate Costs

An accurate estimate of the costs is only possible after an in-clinic consulta­tion with Dr Prashant. We charge a £50 deposit to secure your consulta­tion with Dr Prashant, this amount will be deducted from the costs of the treat­ment you go on to have at our clinic.

The cost of this treat­ment under local anes­thesia starts from £2500 to £3000  depending on procedure and complexity.