CUPID LIFT™

The Idea:

CUPID LIFT™ is a Deep Plane Upper Lip Lift performed using the unique and groundbreaking Cupid Design. This design, created by Dr. Ben Talei, can modify and improve lip shape, contour, and volume. Prior lip lifts have only been focused on lifting and shortening the lip height, often resulting in exaggerated or fake appearances. CUPID LIFT™ focuses on reverse engineering lip excision to obtain the most balanced and natural results.

The Design:

What does CUPID LIFT™ mean? Cupid refers to the design markings drawn on the lip before starting the surgery. The Cupid name was derived from the independent Relaxed Skin Tension Lines on the lip as described by Dr. Talei. Central, Peak, Intermediate, and Diagonal spell out CPID and from there you have our name Cupid. These are the marking lines used to design what the lip will look like, allowing us to control the shape, slope, and display of the lip. The Diagonal line also helps differentiate between the subfacial and subnasal lip and determine which patients will need a corner lip lift. The subfacial lip doesn’t lift very much with subnasal lip lifting or fillers.

The Technique:

The CUPID LIFT™ design depends on the Deep Plane Upper Lip Lift to work properly. The Deep Plane Upper Lip Lift (previously known as the modified upper lip lift) is a technique originally described by Dr. Ben Talei. Using a subnasal incision as the access point, the SMAS layer (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) is released above the orbicularis oris muscle layer. This allows the composite skin and SMAS flap to roll over the muscle layer without bunching the muscle which would crowd the area and obliterate proper muscle function. The muscle can then independently be lifted if more tooth show is required. The deep plane lift results in a true tension-free closure which helps decrease the chances of problems with scarring and changes to the nose. This also helps ensure a more precise result with better preservation and even improvements in muscle function. A unique hypochlorous solution and hyperbaric oxygen are used to speed the recovery process. These procedures are most commonly performed using local anesthesia injections with minor oral sedatives.

The Corners:

A lip lift refers to a lifting of the upper lip from any portion of the lip. There are many sub-types of lip lifts that address various forms of lip drooping. The subnasal upper lip lift mainly lifts the portion of the lip directly under the nose. A large subset of patients will also benefit from a corner lip lift to help expose the lateral lip or neutralize a depression around the corners of the mouth. Some doctors routinely perform the corner lift along with a subnasal lip lift, while others perform them separately. Corner lifting can be a very powerful procedure with minimal healing and downtime. Dr. Ben Talei has developed two simplified methods of deep plane corner lifting called a Type 1 and Type 2 corner lift. Type 1 simply reveals more lateral vermillion while Type 2 can lengthen the vermillion and help treat angular depression around the mouth.

The Internal / Inferior Lip Border:

The internal or inferior lip border refers to the wet-dry vermillion or mucocutaneous junction. If patients have an “M” shaped lip or other depressions and bulges, a variety of mucosal treatments may be performed at the same time. We occasionally employ the methods of VY-Plasty, Central tubercle reduction, W-plasty, and Frenulotomy/Frenuloplasty when needed.

Lasering:

In most patients lasering is not necessary. Still, we like to laser the incisions with a CO2 laser once or twice after the procedure. The large majority of patients graduate after these treatments and need nothing else, while a small percentage may need future scar modulation with injections, needling, or lasers.