Lip Hardness After Surgery

[beth628]

When I was a baby I had a mass of blood vessels in my lower lip that burst and as a result there was scar tissue in the inside of my lip which left a small raised puffy area on the surface that was a white shade.  I had a plastic surgeon look at it and he said he could cut on the small indent that was already there and remove some of the scar tissue to improve the appearance. Now, it's been three weeks and the swelling is completely gone but I do still have slight tightness when smiling and there is a small hard bump under my lip now in the area where the scar tissue was removed. When I smile it doesn't move and protrudes a bit.  This is actually worse than what it naturally looked like.  But at least now when I'm not smiling it's barely visible.  But I would like to be able to smile without a bump that doesn't move in my lip.  Is this normal to have a bump there and will it go away!?!??! This wasn't something my doctor said should happen and I have contacted the office. They said it should go away within a couple weeks but since it's barely any smaller than it originally was and since I wasn't informed such a thing could happen in the first place I am looking for another opinion.

[amsramon]

Hi Sarah,
Had a similar accident 2 weeks ago, fell off my bike and caused lacerations on my lip that turned into a sort of bumpy whitish tissue. I am now just wondering to which plastic surgeon to go to, cause I dont feel too comfortable with it. Have you undergone surgery? wouldnt mind to show you a pic of my lip ;-) anyways, reply here or also in my email
***@****
best wishes
Ramon

[SJDennis]

Hi Beth, Serenou,

I hope you are both well.
I am suffering from a similar problem to yourselves.  I also have a small, lump in my lower lip.  This follows an accident I had (just under 2 years ago) whereby I collapsed, fell on the tiled floor in my bathroom and bit almost completely through my lower lip.
I am deeply upset about my lip (as I also have a visible lump when I smile) and am considering surgery to my lip as well.  
I wanted to ask you both (as time has passed since you both wrote in) whether, having undergone surgery, you were pleased with the results, whether you had any photos you could share so that I may see how your lips have been improved by the surgery and whether you now feel that your lips are back to 'normal' in that when you smile your lip lines are visibly 'flat'/without lumps (like a person who has not had an accident if that makes sense).  I also wondered if you could possibly tell me more about what the surgeon actually did to remove the scar tissue as I am scared about having anything done in case it looks worse.
If you could offer me some advice in light of your experiences about surgery etc that would be much appreciated.
Best wishes, Sarah x      

  

[serenou]

Hi,

I also had a surgery to my lower lip 3 weeks ago.  I had an accident 20 years ago, fell and bit through my lip.  I had a couple of stitches at the time and after, developped a large hard lump on my lip.  I had it "removed" 8 years ago but there was still some bump left.  

So 3 weeks ago, I decided to do it again and for the last time.  It looks flat in front of my lip and this is good BUT there is a lot of hard tissue inside the lip and some hard swelling in the inner lip.  I can not even smile for real, it is so stiff.

Please, please tell me it is normal because I am freaking out.  I am massaging it 3 times a day with pure vitamine E oil.  Will the hard part "melt", or become softer?

Thanks a lot.  Serenou.

[beth628]

Thank you for the advice to be patient! I must say that I am now much happier with my results.  The hardness is almost completely gone, I have feeling back, and there is barely even a scar from the incision.  It's been 7 weeks and I think within a few more you may never even know that I had scar tissue in my lip to begin with!

[rich1959]

Beth, be patient. You carried the scar tissue with you since you were a baby. You went to a plastic surgeon - board-certified, I hope - who performed the scar revision, which he or she is trained for years to do.

It's up to your body now. Healing takes time. The doctor's office has worked with others like you, who have had a surgery. They want to offer reassurance, but they know that in 99 of 100 cases, time will bring the results you want. Monitor it too closely and you will drive yourself crazy.  

I've researched scarring for a site that I edit - http://www.beautydispatch.com. Check it out, there are recent articles on scarring, healing and stretch marks.