Most patients who ask me for a lip lift have already had filler, sometimes several times, and are unhappy in a way they find hard to describe. The lips are bigger but the mouth does not look younger. That is because filler and a lip lift solve different problems, and the problem those patients have is usually not volume. This page explains what a lip lift changes, who it suits, and the parts of it that are permanent and therefore worth thinking about slowly.
What a Lip Lift Changes That Filler Cannot
The distance between the base of the nose and the top of the upper lip is called the philtrum, and it lengthens with age. As it lengthens, the red part of the lip rolls inward and disappears, the upper lip covers the teeth even at rest, and the mouth takes on a closed, heavier look.
Filler adds volume to the red part of the lip. It does nothing to the distance above it. Injecting volume into a lip that sits under a long philtrum pushes the lip forward rather than upward, which is where the projecting, over-filled appearance comes from.
A lip lift removes a strip of skin at the base of the nose and shortens that distance. The red lip rolls outward and becomes visible again, the upper teeth show slightly when the mouth is at rest, and the proportions of the lower face change. Published series give a sense of the scale: philtral length typically goes from around 14 mm to 11 or 12 mm, the height of the red lip increases by two to three millimetres, and upper tooth show at rest roughly doubles. These are small numbers on a part of the face people look at constantly. It is a small operation with a disproportionate effect, and it is permanent.
The Technique
I use the subnasal lip lift, often called the bullhorn because of the shape of the incision. The incision follows the base of the nose and the curve of the nostril sills exactly, so the scar sits in the natural junction between nose and lip rather than on flat skin above it.
Only skin is removed. The muscle beneath is preserved, which is what protects the movement of the mouth and the shape of the smile. How much skin is removed is measured on the individual philtrum, not taken from a standard figure, and I mark it with the patient sitting upright rather than lying down, because the lip sits differently under gravity.
Closure is in layers with fine sutures, and the deeper layer carries the tension so the skin edges meet without being pulled. Scar quality in this operation is decided at closure, not afterwards.
Who Is a Good Candidate
The operation suits patients with a long philtrum, a thin-looking upper lip that has rolled inward, and little or no upper tooth show when the mouth is relaxed. Many are in their forties and fifties, but a long philtrum is also simply an inherited proportion, and younger patients with that anatomy are good candidates too.
The honest exclusions, and this operation has real ones. If your philtrum is already short, a lift will make the mouth look strange rather than younger, and shortening it further is not reversible. If you already show a lot of upper gum when you smile, a lip lift will show more, and that needs to be discussed before anything else. If your problem is genuinely volume rather than proportion, filler is the correct answer and I will say so. And if you scar poorly, understand that the scar in this operation sits on the face, not behind an ear.
I turn down a proportion of lip lift requests, more than for most operations on this site. The reason is that the change cannot be undone.
The Operation
A lip lift takes thirty to sixty minutes and is a day case. It is usually performed under local anaesthesia, with sedation if the patient prefers. There is no hospital stay and no general anaesthetic in most cases.
The precision is in the marking rather than the cutting, which is why the assessment before the operation takes longer relative to the operation than in almost anything else I do.
Your Days in Istanbul
- Day 0: surgery and back to your hotel the same day.
- Days 1 to 4: swelling of the upper lip peaks around day two and is noticeable. Soft food, no straws, no wide mouth opening.
- Day 5 to 7: sutures out, wound checked, and you fly home. Plan five to seven days in Istanbul.
Expect the upper lip to look swollen and the result to look excessive for the first two weeks. This is the phase patients find hardest, and it is not the result. Swelling settles over two to three weeks, and the scar goes through a red phase before fading over several months. Sun protection on that scar for the first six months does more for its final appearance than any cream.
Social downtime is realistic at about a week, though the scar remains visible for longer and is easily covered with makeup once healed.
If you want a plan built around your own surgery date, the recovery planner will make one.
Risks and Honest Limits
The scar is the honest centre of this operation. Placed at the nasal base it usually fades to a fine line that is difficult to see at conversational distance, but it is on the face, it is permanent, and in some skin types it stays visible longer than in others. Anyone who tells you the scar is invisible is selling rather than consenting.
The published numbers are worth knowing before you decide. Across the collected literature on surgical upper lip enhancement, a poor scar or a result the patient did not find attractive is the most common complication, reported in roughly seven percent of cases, and revision rates across studies run between under one and about seven percent. Those are not frightening figures for facial surgery, but they are not zero, and this is the operation on this site where the complication lands somewhere you cannot cover with a sleeve.
The other specific risks are over-shortening, which cannot be reversed, distortion of the nostril sills if the incision is not designed to follow them, temporary stiffness of the upper lip and a smile that feels different for a few weeks, and altered sensation that usually settles.
The limit worth stating plainly: a lip lift changes proportion, not volume or texture. It does not smooth vertical lip lines, it does not make a thin lip full, and it does not lift the corners of the mouth. Where the ageing is in the lower face as a whole rather than the lip, a facelift is the relevant conversation.
Smoking impairs healing in facial incisions in particular; read my guide to smoking and surgery before booking if you smoke.
Cost of a Lip Lift in Turkey
A lip lift in Istanbul costs considerably less than the same operation in the United Kingdom, Germany or the wider EU, and the difference reflects local operating costs rather than technique or materials. The figure depends on whether it is performed under local anaesthesia or with sedation, and whether it is combined with another procedure in the same session. I quote in writing after seeing photographs, and the quotation covers the operation and follow-up in Istanbul.
Send your photographs for an assessment. A front view with the mouth relaxed and lips apart, a front view smiling, and a side view are enough for me to measure your philtrum and tell you whether a lift is the right operation for you. Message on WhatsApp
Frequently Asked Questions
Lip lift or filler, which do I need?
Filler adds volume. A lip lift shortens the distance between nose and lip and rolls the red lip outward. If your lip looks thin because it has rolled inward under a long philtrum, filler will not fix it and often makes the mouth look pushed forward.
Is the scar visible?
It sits in the crease at the base of the nose, following the nostril sills, and usually fades to a fine line that is hard to see in conversation. It is permanent and in some skin types it stays visible longer. This is the main trade of the operation.
Is a lip lift permanent?
Yes. The skin removed does not come back, which is also why over-shortening cannot be corrected.
How long do I stay in Turkey for a lip lift?
Five to seven days, so the sutures can be removed before you fly.
Will it change my smile?
The upper lip feels stiff for a few weeks and then relaxes. The lasting change is that more of the upper teeth show at rest, which is the point of the operation. If you already show a lot of gum when smiling, tell me before we plan anything.
How long does the swelling last?
It peaks around day two, is largely settled at two to three weeks, and the scar continues to fade over several months.
Can it be combined with other procedures?
Yes, commonly with facial rejuvenation procedures in the same session. It is also frequently done alone under local anaesthesia.
About the Surgeon
Dr Mustafa Aydınol is a plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon practising in Istanbul, a member of ISAPS and of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. The practice holds Health Tourism Authorization from the Turkish Ministry of Health. Consultations are conducted in Turkish, English, German and Italian.
