Overview
Upper lip aging includes volume loss, looser tissue, a longer skin lip and less visible red lip. Skin-only lip lifts may not fix these changes and may scar badly when the closure is under tension. The authors reviewed 600 women treated between 2020 and 2024 with SMAS-based lip lifts, choosing plication or excision by lip volume and tissue, and assessed standardized photos taken at least 12 months after surgery.
Findings
- 600 female patients; mean age 36.4 years.
- Mean follow-up 14.6 months; photographs at a minimum of 12 months.
- Technique: SMAS plication or SMAS excision, chosen by lip volume and tissue characteristics.
- Minor scar elevation in 11 patients, managed with fractionated carbon dioxide laser.
- No surgical revisions were required.
- Overall results and lip contour were described as clinically satisfactory.
- Level of evidence: V.
What it means for a patient
- A lip lift that also tightens or trims the deeper muscle layer aims to take tension off the skin scar under the nose.
- In this group, 11 of 600 had a raised scar that was treated with laser, and none needed another operation.
- Limits: a retrospective review, women only, mean age 36.4, no comparison with skin-only lip lifts, and results described without a measured scale.
Why this paper matters
It reports 600 SMAS-based subnasal lip lifts, with 11 minor scar problems and no revisions. It supports tailoring plication or excision to lip volume to control lip eversion while lowering skin tension.
Terms
- Subnasal lip lift: removing a strip of skin under the nose to shorten the upper lip.
- SMAS: here, the muscle and fibrous layer under the skin of the upper lip.
- Plication: folding and stitching tissue to tighten it without removing it.
- Excision: cutting tissue out.
- Vermilion show: how much of the red part of the lip is visible.
- Lip eversion: the upper lip turning slightly outward, showing more red lip.
- Fractionated CO2 laser: a laser that treats tiny columns of skin, used here to flatten raised scars.