Ever since the ancient times women used cosmetic to enhance the appearance of their lips. Lip augmentation is a procedure design for people wishing to enlarge and reshape their lips. It allows creating more sensual looking lips using various techniques available. This procedure can also help people with congenital lip defects. The ideal candidates for lip augmentation are men and women otherwise healthy who wishes to reshape the appearance of their lips. There are some conditions in which lip augmentation is contradicted; those include facial nerve disorders, recurrent herpes infection, diabetes, history of multiple allergies and autoimmune disorders.
This procedure can be performed using injectable fillers, implants and surgical manipulations. All techniques are performed using local anesthetics.
Injectable fillers - this technique uses several materials that are injected into your lips. The most common injectors include collagen and autologous fat. Other not commonly used in USA are hyaloronic acid preparations such as Restylane or Perlane and bioplastique. The advantage of autologous fat injection is that it provided long term and sometimes permanent results. The fat is harvested from the umbilical area and injected in small proportions to the lips.
Implants - can be synthetic for example polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Soft-Form) and biomaterials, for example dermis, fascia and donor dermis (AlloDerm). The implants come in various sizes and are implanted below the lip skin. Two small cuts are made in the corners of the mouth from the inside, then the implant is delivered inside using a special passer.
Surgical procedures - the surgeon performs various manipulations to create new look for your lips. The cuts are made from the inside of your mouth, involving only skin and mucous membranes. Flaps are created to either shorter the distance or to fill the desired space.
Every procedure has its complications, this one includes; allergic reactions to collagen, haematoma of the donor site, skin scaring, infections, asymmetry of the lips, impaired lip function and sensation changes.
After the procedure you're lips will be covered with ice packs for the first 24 hours. You'll be asked to avoid excessive talking, smiling or laughing for about a week. Oral analgesics are provided to reduce the pain. Swelling is very common it usually persists for 7-10 days. During the postoperative period it is recommended to use ice packs, avoid sunlight and solid food and use special saline for lip care. You also may feel numbness around the lips, this usually resolves after 4-6 weeks.