Case #55

Improving upper lip lines has been a challenge for most of my career. When I first started, dermabrasion and phenol peels were the only tools we had. Dermabrasion resulted in an open wound with a down time of a week to ten days. It also sometimes left scars and the lines were not always removed by the procedure. Phenol peels did an excellent job of smoothening the lines but the patients had down times of one to two weeks and the skin always lost all the pigment. Other chemical peels and lasers were less effective in smoothening the lines. We now have an array of fillers and newer methods of injecting them. These procedures have vastly improved the outcome while minimizing down times. Expect swelling for a couple of days and some bruising is not uncommon. However, results can be excellent and last up to a year and a half.