Lip Lift Surgery in Millsboro, DE

Lip Lift

Lip lift surgery in Millsboro, DE, is a minor outpatient procedure that corrects one of the more common but overlooked signs of facial aging: an elongated upper lip. Peninsula Plastic Surgery serves patients from Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, and throughout the Delmarva Peninsula who are looking for a lasting structural solution that cosmetic injectables are not designed to provide.
For many patients along Delaware’s coastal communities, years of sun exposure and natural aging reshape the face in gradual, cumulative ways. When the upper lip lengthens beyond a youthful proportion, fillers and neurotoxins can only do so much.

What is a Lip Lift?

This surgical procedure is designed to shorten the upper lip and restore a more balanced proportion between the nose, lips, teeth, and chin.
Over time, the upper lip gradually descends. This reduces the visibility of the upper front teeth (incisors) when the mouth is slightly open or relaxed. In a youthful face, approximately 2 to 3 mm of the upper incisors are visible at rest. As the lip lengthens, that tooth show diminishes and, in some patients, disappears entirely.
Aging also causes the vermilion, the red portion of the lip, to rotate inward. This makes the upper lip look thinner and reduces the visible lip surface available.
A longer upper lip also affects the lower face as a whole. When the distance between the nose and mouth increases, the chin can appear proportionally smaller or less defined. Shortening the lip restores visual balance to that relationship without touching the chin.

Why Fillers Are Not Always the Right Solution

Injectable treatments can refresh many areas of the lip, but they are not designed to correct an anatomically elongated upper lip.
Filler adds volume, but it does not reduce the length between the nose and the vermilion border. For a patient whose upper lip is already long, additional volume can make the lip look heavier while further reducing tooth show rather than improving it.
A neurotoxin lip flip produces a subtle outward roll of the upper lip, but its effect is modest and temporary, and it does not change the actual length of the lip.
When the underlying problem is upper-lip length, upper lip surgery corrects it directly. No injectable treatment reshapes the anatomy in the same way.

How a Lip Lift Works

During the procedure, your surgeon removes a measured strip of skin from directly beneath the nose, following the natural contours of the nostrils and nasal base. This placement allows the resulting scar to settle into the base of the nose, where it becomes relatively inconspicuous as it matures.
Removing this tissue shortens the upper lip and gently rotates the vermilion outward. The result is three meaningful changes to the lower face:

The change reads as natural, not surgical.

Goals of a Lip Lift

Lip lift surgery is tailored to each patient’s anatomy and proportions. Typical goals include:

Who is a Candidate?

Patients who may benefit from this procedure typically present with one or more of the following:

For some patients, upper lip reduction is the most structurally appropriate option available. A personal consultation with Dr. Perrotta or Dr. Kerestes is the best starting point to determine whether this is true for you.

What to Expect at Your Consultation

During your consultation, Dr. Perrotta or Dr. Kerestes will assess your lip length, tooth show, vermilion position, and the overall geometry of the lower face. They will listen to your goals and explain what lip shortening can realistically achieve for your specific anatomy.
If this procedure is appropriate, a treatment plan and written cost estimate will be provided before any commitment is made. Peninsula Plastic Surgery has been the region’s most experienced plastic surgery practice for over two decades, serving patients from Millsboro, Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, and across the Delmarva Peninsula.

The Lip Lift Procedure

This procedure is performed in the office under local anesthesia and typically takes approximately 30 minutes. There is no need for a hospital facility or general anesthesia.
Your surgeon will measure and mark the tissue to be removed before any anesthetic is placed. Lidocaine is then injected to numb the area fully. The marked strip of skin is removed from just beneath the nose, and the incision is closed with sutures placed to minimize visible scarring.
This form of upper lip surgery is well suited to patients in Millsboro and the surrounding coastal Delaware communities who prefer a short procedure time and a straightforward recovery.

Pre-Op Visit

Given that this is a minor in-office procedure, a separate preoperative appointment is not always required. In many cases, scheduling can proceed directly following the consultation once a surgical plan has been agreed upon.

Post-Op Recovery

Most patients recover without significant difficulty. Some swelling and bruising around the upper lip are expected and generally resolve within the first week or two.
Patients are asked to keep the incision site clean and dry for the first 24 to 48 hours following surgery. Detailed wound-care instructions are provided at discharge.
Sutures are typically removed 7 to 8 days after the procedure. The incision line will be visible initially, but most patients find it becomes less noticeable over the months that follow as the scar matures.
The outcome of this lip shortening procedure is apparent relatively quickly, with further refinement as healing continues.

Summary

This procedure offers patients in Millsboro, DE, and the coastal Delaware communities of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach a direct, lasting solution for an elongated upper lip. By restoring youthful tooth show, increasing visible vermilion, and rebalancing the lower face, the procedure produces meaningful improvement while maintaining natural-looking results.
For patients who have explored upper lip surgery or surgical upper lip reduction and want to understand whether they are a candidate, a consultation with our surgeons is the logical next step.

FAQs

How is a lip lift different from lip fillers?

Lip fillers increase volume but do not change the length of the upper lip. The procedure removes a small strip of skin from beneath the nose, producing a structural correction that injectable treatments cannot replicate.

Is lip lift surgery painful?

Local anesthesia is used throughout the procedure, so patients experience minimal discomfort during surgery. Some soreness and swelling are expected in the days following, both of which resolve with routine post-operative care.

How long do results last?

Because the procedure removes tissue rather than adding a temporary filler, the structural improvement is long-lasting. The natural aging process continues over time, but the correction achieved through surgery is not subject to the same gradual reversal as injectables.

Will the scar be noticeable?

The incision is placed at the base of the nose, where it tends to heal discreetly. With proper wound care, most patients find the scar becomes difficult to detect after a few months.

Who performs lip lift procedures at Peninsula Plastic Surgery?

Dr. Vincent Perrotta and Dr. Thomas Kerestes perform lip lift surgery at our Millsboro-area practice. Both are board-certified plastic surgeons with extensive experience in facial procedures.

Am I a good candidate for upper lip reduction?

Candidacy is best determined through an in-person consultation. Most appropriate candidates have a measurably long upper lip, reduced tooth show at rest, and have not achieved their goals through non-surgical treatments.

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