Many female patients today seek rejuvenation procedures
which involve making the mouth area look better or less
aged. As women age, some will lose lip volume, develope
upper and lower lip wrinkles, and have the corners of the
mouth draw down. This often creates a sad, mad, or unhappy
appearance to the lip area.
Most commonly, lip injections with hyaluronic fillers such
as Juvaderm, Restylane, or Perlane are done to enhance the
size of the lips, help fill out some of the fine wrinkles
which are around the pink part of the lips, and raise up
the mouth corners to some degree. While these forms of
injectable treatments are effective and non-invasive, they
are not permanent.
The corner of the mouth lift is a surgical option that has
lasting effects. It is an old procedure that has been
around for many decades. The corner of the mouth lift
should be more popular than it is given that it is a minor
procedure that can be performed alone in the office or as
part of many other facial rejuvenation procedures. By
taking a small triangle of skin from just above the
drooping mouth corner, the downhanging mouth corner can be
turned up quickly and easily. It is a very powerful
procedure for such a small removal of skin and one must be
careful not to overdo it by raising the corner of the mouth
too far up and having too long of a scar. It does create a
very small scar at the corner of the mouth but it is nearly
indetectable if done right.
The key to a good corner of the mouth lift result is making
the mouth corner level, and not more, and keeping the scar
small that does not wander far from the corner of the
mouth. Many facelift patients mistakenly think that the
facelift will pull up the corner which is a
misunderstanding. That is why some facelift patients with
'frowns' needs a concurrent corner of the mouth lift
procedure.
I have found this procedure to be well accepted and most
patients are surprised when I mention it as they have never
heard of it. As an in-office procedure, it works well with
lip injections and lip lifts and advancements. The frown
that runs down into the 'marionette lines' will usually
need filling of the deeper marionette line with injectable
synthetic fillers, fat grafts, or a soft gore-tex implant,
depending upon whether the procedure is done in the office
or the oeprating room. For those patients with chronic
irritation due to salivary overflow (a condition known as
angular cheilitis), a corner of the mouth may even be
curative as it rearranges the angulation of the 'spout' and
creating a more competent lip dam effect.
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Dr Barry Eppley, board-certified plastic surgeon of
Indianapolis, operates a private practice at Clarian North
and West Medical Centers in suburban Indianapolis. He
writes a daily blogs on topics and trends in plastic
surgery at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com
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