LIP AUGMENTATION
Lip augmentation is possible with the use of a number of different materials.
Most patients choose injectable fillers to augment the shape and fullness of the upper and lower lips. Injectable filler augmentation of the lips is done under local anesthesia with an expected return to one's normal daily activities as early as the same day. Because the injectable material can be placed in either large or very tiny amounts depending on the patient's wishes this gives more flexibility in refining the result than with any of the other techniques. The limitation of injectable fillers is that they are temporary. The results will last between 6 months and a year.
If patients wish to have a longer lasting result, we prefer their own tissue be used as grafts.
Perhaps the most long-lasting and best-tolerated materials for lip augmentation are dermal fat grafts, placed in a tunnel, created in the lip. They provide a long-lasting correction and enhancement and frequently have secondary benefit in ameliorating small circumoral lip wrinkle lines. This has become our favorite material for the patient who does not wish to use injectable fillers. The donor site does result in a scar, which is usually well hidden.
