Lip Suspension Technique

Abstract

The employment of sutures to reposition and maintain as well as reform the lips without surgical manipulation has not enjoyed great popularity. The authors present a bilateral lip suspension technique that has proven effective in both elevating the central lip and improving its fullness. The technique involves passing a permanent suture from the nasal vestibule to the lip vermilion, passing it in and out of the lip, both below and above the vermilion ridge and back under the skin to the vestibule. With tying, the lip is elevated, increasing vermilion show, adding fullness to the lip, and restoring the natural concavity between the nose and lip. An auxiliary technique, involving a transverse suture placement within the vermilion to give additional central tubercle fullness and Cupid's bow prominence, is also described. These procedures have been performed in 24 patients, ranging in ages from 35 to 67 years, over the past 4 years. Representative cases are shown.