Get Full, Luscious Lips with Lip Augmentation

By Dr. Robert Troell, M.D., F.A.C.S
Newport Beach and Hollywood, California and Las Vegas, Nevada

Lip Augmentation

Want bigger, fuller, gorgeous lips like Angelina Jolie and other famous celebrities?

Lip enhancement and augmentation may enhance one’s facial appearance by creating a fuller more seductive look with luscious lips. This fuller appearance can be achieved by one of three different procedures:

A. adding a substance, such as a dermal or skin filler
B. using one’s own soft tissue, lip tissue itself, fat, pericranial scalp tissue
C. adding a soft, solid, silastic implant

Lip enhancement techniques can be divided into two general categories:

1. Temporary
2. Permanent

Temporary techniques involve an injectable skin or dermal filler that need repeat injections every 6-12 months. The current options include the hyaluronic acid (HLA) fillers to include:

1. Restylane
2. Perlane
3. Juvaderm

The advantages of the HLA dermal fillers are:

• they are easy to inject
• performed under topical or nerve block local anesthesia
• subtle lip asymmetries can be corrected with fillers
• soft, natural feel

The disadvantages of the HLA dermal fillers are:

• the fillers are temporary, lasting 5-9 months
• each time an injection is necessary is somewhat uncomfortable
• injections of filler into the bulk of the lip are absorbed more rapidly

Permanent techniques involve the placement of a synthetic implant or using the patient’s own soft tissues. The enhancement or augmentation is performed by placing some of one’s own soft tissue into the upper and/or lower lip. Each of these tissues demonstrates their own benefits and limitations.

The permanent options using one’s own soft tissues as a filler include:

1. Fat Grafting- harvesting the fat from the Body Jet or VASER liposuction techniques.
2. Pericranium- soft tissue taken from underneath the scalp through a small incision
3. Scar tissue- scar from a current incision, such as from a tummy tuck or breast augmentation

The permanent options, which alter either the lip position or to show more pink mucosa using include:

1. a “V – Y” plasty – mucosa inside the mouth is pushed outward to create a fuller lip with more pink color showing.
2. Lip Lift- an incision above the upper lip or below the nose to repair a droopy lip and/or to decrease the distance from the upper lip to the bottom of the nose

The only current FDA approved permanent technique using synthetic material is the PermaLip.

Before and After PermaLip Augmentation Photos:

Click images to enlarge

This is a revolutionary new soft, solid silastic implant. It does not deflate, degrade or rupture over time. Although it’s permanent, it is designed for the ease of placement if a patient wishes to achieve a larger or smaller enhancement or even return to the lips original appearance. It does not limit lip movement and provides a natural look.

Lip Augmentation with Fat Grafting

Fat grafting is a good alternative with the benefits of using the patients own tissue with a permanent result, soft natural feel and appearance with 60-80% of the grafted fat remaining permanently. Between one to three sessions are usually required to achieve the patient’s desired lip fullness. The added benefit of fat harvesting is that a body site, usually the abdomen, can have an improved body contour by liposcultping.

Before and After Fat Grafting Lip Augmentation Photos:

Click images to enlarge

The pericranial tissue taken from underneath one’s scalp is an excellent alternative, because:

• there is virtually no visible incision hidden under one’s hair
• 60% of the graft remains permanently
• a smooth natural contour and natural soft lip feel remains
• performed under local anesthesia or with additional intravenous sedation

Before and After Lip Pericranial Augmentation Photos:

Click images to enlarge

The limitation of this procedure is:

• a donor site is required to acquire the pericranial tissue
• the procedure to acquire the pericranium takes about 30 minutes
• about 40% of the graft tissue absorbs over the first 3 months

Before and After Lip Reduction Photos:
Click images to enlarge

Contact Dr. Troell’s Office for Your Free Consultation:
Dr. Troell and his staff are happy to discuss the Lip Augmentation procedure with you and answer your questions. Please feel free to call Newport Beach (949) 706-1115, Hollywood (323) 960-2430 or Las Vegas (702) 242-6488
click here for your free private consultation or appointment.