Question: Is it possible to reduce the size of just one lip? I like the size and shape of my upper lip, but I have always had a fat lower lip. I would like just my lower lip made smaller. Can this be done?

Answer: Yes, you can definitely reduce the size of the lips and certainly can perform the surgery just on the upper or lower lips without the other, so you can definitely have a lower lip reduction and leave your upper lip completely alone.

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Question: Can you explain what a lip lift is? How is this different from lip augmentation?

Answer: A lip lift is exactly what it sounds like, which is lifting portions of the lips surgically. This can be performed through a small incision underneath the base of the nose or it can be performed through a longer incision along the junction between the lip and the upper lip skin itself. In both cases excess lip skin is removed and the skin is then lifted and enclosed with sutures. These can be very helpful for aging-face patients that do not show much upper teeth when they smile. It can add a very youthful appearance and give them a brighter look.

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Question: I am a lifetime smoker planning to get fat injections into my smile lines. Will my habitual smoking affect the longevity of my fat injections?

Answer: I have personally not seen any good studies at this stage showing any decreased viability of injected fat into smokers versus nonsmokers, so I am not sure I can scientifically answer that question but, for the most part, I do not feel that smile lines are very successfully treated with fat grafting at least not in the long term. I usually steer my patients toward an injectable filler material such as hyaluronic acid for a temporary, but very significant, improvement in these lines.

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Question: If I want a procedure that will give me the appearance of having higher cheekbones what would be my best option?

Answer: You have several options to give the appearance of higher cheekbones. The easiest would be simply to place filler high up in the cheek and add volume in this area and this will, therefore, make your cheeks more prominent. A longer lasting possibility would be to place cheek or malar implants so that this volume will last a lifetime. A third option would be a midface lift, which is a surgical procedure that lifts the cheek tissue up into a more aesthetic position, and a final option would be a deep plane facelift where the midface is elevated in conjunction with a very elegant facelift.

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Question: I am a 23-year-old male professional bodybuilder and would like to have a chin implant. I have a dimple in my chin that I would not want to lose for aesthetic reasons. Can the procedure be done and still keep the dimple?

Answer: Yes, a chin implant can be placed without getting rid of the dimple in the chin. The dimple is there because the muscle, called the mentalis muscle, is separated between the right and left sides leaving a cleft or dimple in the chin. As long as the muscle is not addressed during the chin implant the dimple will still be present, though with a larger chin implant it may not be quite as deep as it was prior to the surgery.

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