Lip Augmentation

General Overview:

Lip Augmentation is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure, which is performed to enhance the size and the appearance of lips, by increasing their fullness. It is a cosmetic procedure that can render fuller, plumper,  .

Methods & materials:

In the late 1990s, with the huge popularity of lip surgery rejuvenation and associated increase of cosmetic surgery procedures worldwide, more substances, along with biocompatible materials commonly used in other medical applications for years, became available to cosmetic surgeons for use in augmenting thinning or misshapen lips.

Some of the first used lip augmentation materials (now, mostly confine dot history books) were:

• Collagen:requires an allergy test because the material is extracted from bovine hides (cows). It lasts anywhere from four weeks to three months because it is also absorbed into the body. However, the allergy test must be observed for four weeks.
• Autologen: An injectable dermalmaterial made from the patient’s own skin. No risk of allergy exists, but the results are very short lasting because the body quickly absorbs the material.
• Dermalogen:Is taken from the patient’s skin – and through a laboratory process – made into a high concentration collagen that can be injected into the lips. Some studies indicate it lasts somewhat longer than collagen.
• Alloderm:Is donor tissue taken from cadavers and then denatured, purified and treated to remove viable cells that could pass along disease. Under a local anesthesia, Alloderm is placed into the mucosa, or body, of the lips in small rolls to make them larger. Alloderm can also be placed into the vermilion, the pink area of the lip, to provide definition and a sharper border.
• Radiance: a synthetic, laboratory produced solution containing calcium hydroxylapatite (bone) suspended in a gelthat has been safely used in medicine for years. Some studies indicate Radiance can last between three and five years.
• Gore-Teximplants: In medical uses, Gore-Tex is known as EPTFE, or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and, commercially as Advanta, UltraSoft, and SoftForm. The EPTFE is delivered to surgeons in strips that are 1/16 inch (2.4mm) and 3/16 (3.4 mm) diameter tubes.

Current popular procedures:

The new, most advanced techniques that are used for Lip Augmentation are as follows:

• : Both Juvederm & Restylane are Non-Animal Stabilized Hyaluronic acid (NASHA) Hyaluronic acid is the basic building of skin collagen. So, Juvederm & Restylane fillers are synthetically prepared, collagen analogues, which are completely safe for injections in humans.

Both are non-animal, clear gels that are used in form of injection. Restylane generally lasts for 6 months and sometimes even longer than that. Juvederm is chemically extremely close to Restylane, but is more cross-linked than restylane & thereforelasts 18 – 24 months. However, many surgeons recommend Restylane as it is slightly smoother to inject. These fillers are metabolized by the human body, therefore chances of side effects are negligible.

Restylane and Juvederm are hyaluronic acid dermal fillers which help in improving the appearance of the lips by adding:

• Shape
• Structure
• Volume

Lip Job
Patient from Germany treated by Dr. Debraj Shome with Juvederm Ultra Plus XC Filler Injections.

Procedure of lip augmentation filler injections (lip job):

• Injectable lip augmentation techniques with dermal fillers like Juvederm & Restylane can be carried out quickly in the doctor’s office with little to no downtime.
• Fat injection is the exception, since the procedure requires a small area ofliposuctionto remove the fat from another part of an individual’s body before the injection can take place.
• Before the filler injections, a topical or local numbing agent may be applied to ease discomfort.
• Sometimes injections can be given before the treatment to completely numb the lips.
• After carefully marking the areas to be injected, very fine needles are used to inject the substance into patient’s lips.
• Following injection, ice may be given to ease discomfort and control swelling. But no firm pressure should be put on the treatment area.
• Lipstick or other lip products are best avoided immediately after the procedure.
• Patients are able to notice a difference immediately.
• After he/she has healed, the lips should feel natural.

Possible side-effects and/or complications of lip filler injections:

• Redness, itching or swelling at the site of injection
• Bleeding at the site
• Uneven lips/lips asymmetry
• Movement of the implants or extrusion
• Swelling and bruising
• Lumps and irregularities in the lips
• Ulceration, scarring or stiffening of the lip
• Infection
• Injection into a blood vessel resulting in tissue loss

• Fat transfer: Surgeons gather through excision or liposuction, the patient’s fat from places on the body where it can be spared and either injected or surgically placed into the lips. Surgical procedures usually require general anesthesia.

See video of a lady, who wanted a lip job. The lady was treated with Juvederm lip filler injections by Dr. Debraj Shome, leading to beautiful, sexy lips:

LIP LIFT SURGERY:

This is a type of plastic surgery procedure that is capable of remodeling the cosmetic appearance of the lips by reshaping them in order to make the vermilion border more prominent; and to modify the facial area above the lips into a more pleasing shape, with an aesthetic aspect. This is a permanent surgery, as opposed to fillers, which are temporary & need to repeated every year or so.

Surgical techniques:

Gull-wing lip lift: It is a technique for making the vermilion border of the lips more prominent, by removing skin and other tissues as needed. The removal is done either directly from or from above the prominent line of skin that borders onto, and sets off, the vermilion of the lips. The incisions made above the lip remove tissue and change the shape of the lips remarkably, by moving up the vermilion outwards to the corners of the mouth. This lift generally takes about 20 minutes; post-surgically the swelling settles down at 1-2 weeks and tightness remains for about 2-4 months. A gull wing lip lift surgery is essentially a method of removing a strip of skin just above the border of the upper lip. It has the shape of a gently extended M and looks like a child’s drawing of a sea gull. This essentially advances the border of the upper lip.

It leaves a visible scar which can obscure the natural upper lip border (called the white roll) and is not popular unless formed in an existing scar.

• Sub-nasal lip lift Surgery: This lift is capable of removing either ellipse or a curved-edge ellipse of tissue from under the nose. Then the skin is raised, and sutured to lift the lip exposing more of the upper-lip vermilion. This is also called the bull-horn lip lift surgery, as the incision is in the shape of the bull’s horn

Drawing of the area of the incision, for a bull horn lip lift surgery. The incision line gets hidden within the cavity of the nose, post delicate suturing.

• Thread lip lift surgery: In this type, a square stitch is placed from one nostril to the other and down the peaks of the Cupid’s bow. As the results of this variety are short-lived, It is not practiced that often.

Complications:

• Pain
• Stiffness
• Numbness
• Lip lengthening
• Lip distortion
• Parasthesia
• Visible scarring
• Speech impediment
• Smile deformation

Are people getting lip augmentation surgery in India?

More and more people, especially women, are getting lip augmentation surgery done in India. And why not? Lip augmentation is a surgery that will give you fuller and plumper lips. Fuller lips can make you appear kinder and more generous, research has found. If your lips are too thin and you want to get fuller ones, then going for an augmentation in India is something you can do with ease.

Getting lip augmentation India: Is it right for you?

If you want to know whether lip augmentation in India is the right thing for you, then you must first ask yourself why you actually want to get it done. Going for lip augmentation unless and until you truly are looking forward to alter or modify your appearance is something you should not do. You should be absolutely sure that you want to modify the look of your lips and then only should you be signing up for lip augmentation in India. Of course, if you use filler injections for lip augmentation, then the results are very easily reversible.

It is important for you to go for lip augmentation in India for yourself. If you are thinking of fitting into a particular image that is only in your head or want to make someone else happy with lip augmentation India, do think it over a few times before going forward.

Also before you go for lip augmentation in India, you should know that having realistic expectations really matter. Trying to look like someone else is going to make your lip augmentation in India a non-success just because you will always be left wanting. Getting lip augmentation in India will no doubt give you fuller and prettier lips but at the end of the day, you will still be yourself.

If you have decided to go for lip augmentation in India, it makes sense to do your homework before pinning down the right plastic surgeon like Dr. Debraj Shome at The Esthetic Clinics in Mumbai, India, for the procedure.