Of course, you can’t have a mouth exactly like a specific actress or model. No two people have exactly the same mouth or any other facial feature. We are all unique. But with today’s aesthetic procedures, an experienced plastic surgeon can enhance your lips by making them fuller and more attractive.
The movement to fuller lips began about 10 years ago. At first I thought it was only a passing fad. Then I began to analyze why women with full lips were considered attractive. One of the primary reasons is that a full lip appears to be a young lip.
As we age, the entire upper lip begins to sag and cover more of the teeth. The red portion of the lip also begins to lose its fullness. In other words, younger people have fuller lips, and they show more tooth surface when they smile. If you have the opportunity to see three or more generations of a single family -- mother, daughter, and granddaughter -- this lengthening of the lip and loss of volume is very evident.
Today, we have many patients in the age range of 20 to 40 who come to us for lip enhancements. Women in their late 40s and older will often have lip enhancement as part of an overall program of facial rejuvenation.
There are several procedures that can be performed to enhance the appearance of a patient’s lip or lips. Some of the procedures, such as injection of filler materials, must be repeated every four to six months in order to maintain the desired results. Other procedures, such as implants and a lip lift, are considered permanent.
Injectables like Collagen, Cymetra, and Fascion are commonly used to plump up the pink part of the lip and make it look wider. The body absorbs these materials over a period of months. The patient’s own fat can also be used as a filler. New techniques of harvesting and transplanting fat are making this procedure very successful. The fat that has not been absorbed after six months is considered permanent.
Implants are permanent solutions to broadening the pink part of the lip and giving it more projection. Alloderm, a freeze-dried cadaver dermal fat graft, is the most popular of the available implant materials. The Alloderm is first molded to the desired shape. On the inside of the mouth, a tiny incision is made in each corner of the lip. The implant is across the lip through those incisions. The incision is closed with a few delicate, dissolvable stitches. The body will absorb some of the Alloderm, so a degree of overcorrection is required. The Alloderm that is not absorbed after six months is considered permanent. The surgery can be repeated if more enhancement is desired.
Gore-Tex is another popular implant material for adding volume to the lip. This material is better tolerated in the lower lip than in the upper. On the positive side, the body cannot absorb Gore-Tex. On the negative side, Gore-Tex is a foreign body; so there is the chance that scar tissue will form around it. If too much scar tissue forms, the lip may feel hard and can be distorted. In these cases, corrective surgery is sometimes required.
Softform is another material used for implants. Softform is shaped like a hollow tube. The body’s own tissue will grow into the hollow portion of the tube. Softform is excellent for creating projection or pout and is often placed right at the edge of where the pink part of the lip meets the white part. Like Gore-Tex, Softform is a foreign body, so there is some risk of scar tissue forming or infection. Also, if you put your finger to your lip and feel for it, Softform can be detected. However, I’ve never had a patient report that his or her significant other noticed it when they kissed.
A lip lift is another procedure used to enhance the appearance of the upper lip. As I wrote earlier, as we age our upper lip sags and we show less tooth surface when we smile. If the red portion of the upper lip is enlarged without addressing the sag problem, the results are not attractive. To eliminate the problem, a small incision is made in the crease where the lip meets the nose. By removing just a few millimeters of tissue, the lip can be raised to create a younger, more youthful appearance. The resulting scar is tiny and almost impossible to see. As with a lip implant, a lip lift is an outpatient procedure and requires only a dental block for anesthesia.
Most lip enhancement procedures are considered relatively minor outpatient surgery and can be performed in about one hour. The patient is typically awake, and the lip is anesthetized with a dental block. After the procedure, the lip is swollen but not particularly uncomfortable. Some patients return to their normal activities immediately. Others choose to let some of the swelling go down before they return to work or social activities.
When patients come to me for lip enhancement, I ask them to bring photographs of people whose lips they like. This gives me an idea of how much enhancement they want. I then analyze the patient’s lips and make a diagnosis about what needs to be corrected in order to meet his or her expectations and create a pretty lip. Occasionally, a patient will want the entire shape of his or her mouth changed. In those cases, I explain to the patient that the surgical procedure necessary to achieve that result will leave unacceptable scars. My goal is to keep all of the patient’s facial features in harmony and to enhance the individual’s appearance. Creating noticeable scars is unacceptable to me.
With today’s advanced materials and aesthetic procedures, almost anyone can have full, pretty, youthful lips. If you are considering enhancing your lips, talk to a qualified and experienced aesthetic surgeon. Discuss your expectations and find out about any possible complications. You might want to consider simply having injections of Collagen or another filler material before you commit to an implant. By starting out with that temporary approach, you can try out your new lips for several months before you make a commitment to a permanent change.
