Repair of defects of the lip is complicated not only because of the highly visible nature of such wounds, but also because the muscles under the lip have to function well to allow for normal speech and eating functions.  Below are examples of large and small defects of the lip.

  This woman had a large melanoma of the skin of the left upper lip.  She underwent wide resection which resulted in the defect you see on the left.  As you can see, this wound went beyond the lip and involved the cheek as well.  She had multiple facial advancement and rotation flaps all done at the same time to provide the result you see on the right.  Speech and oral function are normal.

This woman had a very small basal cell carcinoma skin cancer removed from the skin of the upper lip.  The size of this woun is not very impressive but the location so near the nostril makes it difficult to close without changing the shape of the nostril and scarring the nasal rim.  Her flaps were advanced from the sides to allow the nostril to stay in its native position.