LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Dr. Lam,

What can I apply to my lips to reduce swelling after a lip reduction? Ice, cold towel?

for my patients i start them on a steroid pill before the procedure, which i carry them forward into the second day with. i also have them ice. however, to be honest, NONE of these things matter compared to a surgeon's touch. as an example, i did a lip reduction on a gentleman a year ago and at the time he had dinner with his friend who had one a year before that by another surgeon. his friend was blown out of the water looking at him because a) he was actually at the dinner table with him (albeit having a soft diet) and looked human b) he had minimal to no discomfort. his friend said it took him 1 year to recover by his surgeon rather than a few days. his friend said it looked like a truck ran over him 40 times then backed up again 40 times to finish him off compared to my work that was just a bit swollen. it truly has everything to do with the surgeon, his skill, his technique, and his experience. icing and steroids play a very tiny role in recovery.
best,
sml