Lip reduction surgery (reduction cheiloplasty) makes one or both lips smaller by removing a strip of the inner lining and the soft tissue beneath it. The scar sits inside the mouth, along the line where the dry and wet parts of the lip meet.
It reduces the projection and visible height of naturally large lips, or lips left enlarged by permanent fillers such as silicone. The change is measured in millimetres, swelling hides the result for weeks, and tissue that has been removed cannot easily be put back.
What Lip Reduction Surgery involves
With you sitting up, the surgeon marks how much lip shows at rest and when smiling, and draws an ellipse on the inner surface of the lip. After local anaesthetic with adrenaline, a horizontal wedge of mucosa and the underlying gland and fat layer is removed. The muscle is normally left intact to protect movement. If old permanent filler is present, the granular material is dissected out as far as is safe. The edges are closed with fine dissolving stitches so that the lip rolls slightly inward. Upper and lower lips can be treated together, keeping the lower lip a little fuller than the upper.
Who is a good candidate for Lip Reduction Surgery?
It suits adults whose lip size is stable and who have a clear, modest goal.
- Naturally prominent lips that feel out of balance with the face
- Lips distorted by permanent filler or filler lumps that cannot be dissolved
- Asymmetry where one side or one lip is clearly larger
- A lower lip that everts and stays dry or sore
It is usually not the right choice if:
- Lips enlarged by hyaluronic acid filler, which should be dissolved with hyaluronidase instead
- Lip prominence caused by protruding teeth or jaw position, which is an orthodontic or jaw surgery matter
- Active cold sores, or smokers unwilling to stop during healing
- People expecting a dramatic change or an exact shape
الخيارات التقنية
- Transverse mucosal wedge excision: The standard technique for overall reduction of either lip.
- Bikini or W-shaped excision: A shaped pattern that preserves the central fullness of the upper lip while reducing the sides.
- Filler or granuloma removal: Used when enlargement comes from permanent filler. Results are less predictable and more than one stage may be needed.
- Combined with lip lift: Occasionally planned together when the upper lip is both long and bulky, though many surgeons stage them.
ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك
Surgery takes 30 to 60 minutes per lip, usually under local anaesthetic with or without sedation. You feel the injections and then tugging only. The lips swell quickly and feel tight and numb afterwards. You leave the same day.
الإعداد لرحلتك
Plan for 6 to 8 days in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.
- Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
- Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
- Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
- Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly
التعافي والنتائج
Swelling is marked for the first 5 to 7 days and the lips often look larger than before. Most of it settles in 2 to 3 weeks, with the final shape at 3 months. Eat soft, cool food, rinse after meals, sleep with your head raised and avoid wide mouth opening for a week. Stitches dissolve in 1 to 2 weeks. Tightness and altered feeling when smiling improve over several weeks. Most people are comfortable in public after 10 to 14 days.
- Back to everyday activity: 1 to 2 weeks
- When results show: Settled shape at about 3 months
- How long they last: Permanent
سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح
The operation is small, but lips are highly visible and mobile, so minor irregularities matter.
- Asymmetry or an uneven lip border
- Under-correction needing a touch-up, or over-correction that is hard to reverse
- Prolonged numbness or tingling of the lip
- Firm scar lumps inside the lip, or tightness when smiling
- Infection, bleeding or opening of the stitch line
- Cold sore flare in people who carry the virus
Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.
Cost of Lip Reduction Surgery in Türkiye
Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Lip Reduction Surgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:
- One lip or both
- Whether permanent filler has to be removed
- Local anaesthetic, sedation or general anaesthesia
- Surgeon experience with lip surgery
- Any planned revision policy
Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
Will there be a visible scar?
The incision is placed inside the mouth on the wet part of the lip, so it is not normally visible when you talk or smile.
Can dissolving filler do the same job?
If the fullness comes from hyaluronic acid filler, dissolving it is the right first step and surgery is often unnecessary.
Will my lips feel or move differently?
Numbness and stiffness are common for some weeks. Lasting change in movement is unusual because the muscle is left in place.