What it means for a patient
- A subnasal bullhorn lip lift shortens the skin of the upper lip through an incision along the base of the nose.
- After surgery, the upper lip was shorter, more of the red lip showed, and more of the upper front teeth showed at rest.
- Most complications were mild and short-lived. Revision rates were 0.6% to 6.7%, depending on the study.
- The authors state that technique should be chosen for each patient's anatomy.
- Only 7 studies were included, and their quality was moderate.
Why this paper matters
It gathered recent lip lift studies and reported measured changes in lip proportions, along with satisfaction and revision rates. The authors call for prospective studies with standard outcome measures.
Overview
With age, the skin of the upper lip lengthens, the red part of the lip thins, and less of the upper front teeth shows. Surgical lip lift shortens the skin of the upper lip and shows more of the red lip, but patient selection and outcome measures are not standardized. The authors reviewed studies published from 2017 to 2025 of adults who had a lip lift for aesthetic or aesthetic-functional reasons. The review followed PRISMA 2020 with a protocol registered in PROSPERO. The studies were too different to combine in a meta-analysis.
Findings
- 7 studies with 1754 patients were included; case series needed at least 5 patients.
- Philtral length fell from 14.0-14.5 mm to 10.8-12.0 mm.
- Vermilion height rose from 5.0-6.0 mm to 7.0-9.0 mm.
- Maxillary incisor show rose from 1.5-2.0 mm to 3.5-5.0 mm.
- Patient satisfaction was high (mean GAIS score 4.4 out of 5).
- Complications were mostly mild and transient.
- Revision rates ranged from 0.6% to 6.7%.
- Overall study quality was moderate (MINORS instrument and JBI checklists).
Terms
- Lip lift: surgery that shortens the skin between the nose and the red part of the upper lip.
- Bullhorn (subnasal) lip lift: a lip lift through an incision shaped like a bull's horns along the base of the nose.
- Philtrum: the vertical groove between the nose and the upper lip; philtral length is its height.
- Vermilion: the red part of the lip.
- Maxillary incisor show: how much of the upper front teeth shows with the lips relaxed.
- Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS): a rating of how much appearance improved.
- PRISMA: a set of reporting rules for systematic reviews.
- MINORS: a checklist for rating the quality of nonrandomized studies.
- Revision: a second operation to adjust the result.