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Phone 512.401.2500 | Fax 512.401.2501
2745 Bee Caves Road, Suite 101
Austin,
Texas
78746
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Question:
I am a 30-year-old woman from Austin, TX with very thin lips. What would be the best option for me if I want fuller lips, but want them to look as natural as possible?
Answer:
The options are injectable fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane, surgical implants, or surgical lifts. Surgical lifts can be a good option in select individuals, but have limitations. Implants work great, but they can be felt. Injectable fillers are the most commonly performed procedure and if done correctly will yield a very natural and beautiful result. The only downside to injectable fillers is that they will only last 9-12 months and need to be repeated.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I have a lot of fine lines and indents in my lower lip. They make me look so much older than I already am and I would like to fix these imperfections. What type of lip enhancement would work the best to eliminate these issues?
Answer:
Lip improvement usually involves a combination of filling and skin resurfacing. Filling is usually performed with hyaluronic acid. The common names for these products are Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane. The filling helps replace lost volume and skin fullness. The fine lines that are in the skin are then removed using a CO2 laser. Both of these procedures can be performed in the office.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I want lip augmentation via injectable fillers. I am most interested in hyaluronic acid fillers. After the injections, will my lips swell and if so, for how long? Will my lips feel soft and natural or does the filler make them somewhat harder?
Answer:
Your lips will swell after hyaluronic acid injection for 24 -48 hours. They will also be a little tender and there may be a little bruising. Usually they look very good at 24 hours and even better at 48. The bruising is usually, but not always minor and can usually be covered by make-up. The lips will usually feel quite soft, but if the injection is significant they can feel a little firm. I personally feel that Juvederm provides a softer result in the lips than the other HA fillers.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Is fat injection effective for enlarging the lips?
Answer:
Fat is effective for enlarging the lips, but the effects are likely temporary. For patients who are undergoing fat injections for the parts of the face where the results are permanent such as the cheeks and lower eyelid area, if desired we will place fat in the lips and perioral area as well with the understanding that in these areas the fat will likely resorb. The reason for this is likely that the constant movement of the lip and perioral area prevents adequate vascularity to in-grow into the fledgling fat cells. In some patients we do see some long term results with lip injection, but predicting those patients that will have a long term result is difficult.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I would like shapelier lips. I am not interested in surgery at this time, but I am leery of silicone injections. Are silicone injections the best method at this time for lip augmentation?
Answer:
I do not recommend silicone injections for lip augmentation. The permanence of the result is appealing, but the risks in my opinion out-way the benefits. Unfortunately, I have seen patients with terrible results from silicone including grossly enlarged and nodular lips the only treatment of which is surgical reduction. I would stick with absorbable fillers for lip injection such as Juvederm or Restylane or consider a permanent, but reversible implant such as permalip.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’m interested in getting lip augmentation to plump up my lips. What are my options?
Answer:
Your options for lip augmentation are hyaluronic acid fillers, autologous fat, or permanent implants. Hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane provide well controlled reliable filling of the lips, but the results are temporary lasting about 6-9 months. Fat grafting can be performed to the lips, but in our practice we only perform this when the patient is having grafting for other areas of the face, such as the cheeks or lower eyelids. Fat grafting is very reliable and lasts years in the upper part of the face, but is not as reliable in the lips. It will often resorb in a year or so, however some patients will get a long lasting result from fat and so it is worth trying if other areas are being grafted. permanent lip implants are made of silicone and the procedure can be performed in the office under local anesthesia in about 15 minutes. The implants to not provide the same degree of flexibility as a filler, but the results are permanent. If for some reason the patient does not like the implant they can be removed without great difficulty.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I would really like bigger and sexier lips. However, I’m apprehensive to get any kind of fat grafting or other surgical procedure. Could you please give me some non-surgical options for a lip enhancement?
Answer:
The non-surgical option for lip enhancement is to use an injectable filler such as Juvederm or Restylane. This procedure is performed by anesthetizing the lips and then injecting the filler into the lip. The result will last 6 months usually, but rarely as long as 12 months.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Can I enhance my lips with a fat graft instead of with an injectable filler?
Answer:
We do enhance lips with fat, but only if fat grafting is also to be performed for the rest of the face. Fat is a very reliable procedure for grafting the lower eyelid hollows and cheek hollow as well as other bony areas, but not as successful for the lips. Lip augmentation with fat usually will last about 6-12 months, however some patients will see some degree of a permanent result. If you are grafting the other parts of the face it makes sense to place fat into the lips as well, but not as a stand-alone procedure.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I have great teeth so get quite a few compliments on my smile. But as I have gotten older, I notice that my lips seem to be thinner (could this just be my imagination?). I would like to have lip enhancement using the most highly recommended injectable filler. Is collagen still the best material? Can this cause any sort of allergic reaction?
Answer:
Collagen has been replaced by hyaluronic acid fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm. Collagen had a very short duration and the animal derived forms had an allergic risk. Juvederm and Restylane will last between 6 and 12 months in the lips depending on the patient. 12 months is on the long side. There are rare reported incidents of sensitivity to Hyaluronic acid products, but no true allergic reactions to my knowledge.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Which injectable filler gives the best lip enhancement results?
Answer:
The most common fillers used in lip augmentation are hyaluronic acid products, these include Juvederm, Restylane, Perlane and others. The choice of which filler to use is provider dependent and varies with different surveys. We use Juvederm for lip augmentation more often than others because we believe it has a slightly softer feel and look than the others. Radiesse, Sculptra and Silicone should be avoided for lip augmentation in our opinion. If a more permanent augmentation is desired a permanent implant can be placed with a simple surgical procedure.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
