Lip Enlargement (Cheiloplasty)

Impact of the Aging Process on the Lips

The aging process has an impact on the mouth and lips, just like any other part of the body. Vertical wrinkles, known as ‘barcode lines’ develop  and the upper lip loses ‘padding’ and becomes less bulky over time. These issues are emphasised by smoking, as well as by the loss of teeth, which bulk out not only the cheek cavities, but the front of the face around the lips also. These ‘barcode lines’ can be treated very successfully with laser resurfacing, dermabrasion or by a deep chemical peel, which may be combined with the facelift procedure. The loss of bulk of the lip area is actually really effectively handled by autologous fat implants or with artificial fillers.

Lip Enlargement (Cheiloplasty)

Among the list of attributes of the process of aging, is that the opening of the mouth – obviously including the lips, moves downwards. When a young person smiles, they usually reveal the front of their top teeth. As they reach middle age however, they are prone to show the actual gap between their upper and lower teeth, and when elderly people smile, they frequently show the front of their lower teeth. This is as a result of the thinning and lengthening of the upper lip area, and the size or height of the pink part of the lip lessens quite frequently also.

A strip of skin is taken away from the lip margins when a cheiloplasty procedure is performed. Once the wound is closed, the actual lip then rolls in an outward direction so that the lip, in effect, appears to pout more. Additionally, it increases the height of the pink part of the upper lip and reduces the length between the underneath of the nose and the pink margin of the lip. This procedure results in a scar across the upper edge of the pink part of the lips, exactly where there is a natural line anyhow.

The scar tissue can be easily concealed with lip liner or lipstick if it is a woman who has had the procedure, or it can be treated with permanent make-up if it is particularly unsightly. Both of the lips can be increased in size in this way, however the procedure is specifically much more successful for the upper lip.

This procedure is not performed due to the aging process alone – it can be extremely successful in young adults who have an extended upper lip that hides their teeth when they smile, or anyone who has a thin, hard-looking upper lip with a reduced pink margin. It would be most unsuitable for an individual who currently has a ‘gummy grin’, showing not only the upper areas of the upper teetch, but the gums as well.

A Cheiloplasty operation can be easily carried out as a day case under local anaesthetic. A dressing is essential for 7 days, but after the dressing has been removed, it is possible to apply lip stick immediately. The lips are an area that are highly resistant against infection and after approximately 7 days, the wound will likely be impervious to bacteria.

Lip Fillers

When the patient wants her lips to be larger and fuller, then either an injectable filling agent or perhaps a permanent augmentation can be utilized. A cheiloplasty operation (see above) is a much more appropriate procedure in a case when the upper lip is actually too long and hides the teeth during a smile because lip fillers will probably extend the lip anyway. There are 3 areas where it is possible to inject the synthetic or artificial fillers, and each on of these sites have different indications:

• Into the dark pink of the lip itself, to create larger, fleshier lips.

• Deep into the main part of the upper lip to increase the lip when the normal youthful mass has been lost through the aging process.

• Along the dark pink margin. This particularly emphasizes the demarcation between the dark pink of the lips and the normal facial skin as well as making the upper lip pout much more.

The majority of fillers do not last very long in cases when they are utilized in the lips because the region is always very active. Fillers – which are designed to be long-lasting in other areas of the body – tend to produce fairly hard lumps when inserted just beneath the skin of the lips, particularly within the dark pink part of the lips. And as a result of this, the lips generally don’t move properly and will appear quite strange when the individual is smiling or talking – particularly in the event that too much filler has been injected.  A lot more problems occur when injecting fillers into the lower lip, compared to inserting it into the upper lip – because the lip is supported less effectively. It may therefore droop downwards as well as forwards, ruining the effect desired from the procedure in the first place.

Both synthetic enhancements or implants as well as natural implants can be used to improve the dimension of the lips. Artificial implants, in the form of suture material or special plastic implants or threads, have also been used a great deal in the previous years in the lips, but they are used less nowadays, due to the fact that there is now a larger and more effective choice of injectable fillers available. The main drawback surrounding the majority of such artificial or synthetic implants, is that if they are of any kind of significant dimension, they can be felt by the patient or even seen by others. They can additionally eventually move from their original position.

Natural enhancements can be obtained by using prepared cadaver skin or skin or even scar tissue from the patient. This particular kind of implant is known as a dermal graft. Cadaver enhancements are specifically prepared to reduce the likelihood of rejection by the receiver. They can be obtained sterilised and pre-packed for instant use, and it is therefore not necessary to harvest skin tissue from the individual.

If a patient has a  previous scar, for example, an appendix scar, tissue can be removed (excised) from an individual and the ensuing defect can then be sutured in place. The actual excised scar will have its superficial skin layer removed (de-epithelialised), which then leaves a strip of skin tissue made up of scar tissue and skin dermis. This scar and skin tissue can then be suitably cut and shaped to be inserted along the lower and upper lip margins to improve and boost their size. The operation is generally carried out under local anaesthetic as a day case.

The insertion of Cadaver enhancements is performed using a comparable technique. Small stab-like incisions are created at the extremities of the lower or upper lips, and the implant / augmentation is then threaded into the lip at the required depth, with the use of a specifically designed medical instrument.

Recovery from lip filling procedures tends to be fairly quick. Reactions such as post-operative soreness, bruising as well as swelling, tends to be short lived and never usually particularly serious. In order that the risk of infection is reduced, antibiotics are routinely issued.

Even though this procedure is generally very successful and the result is lasts a long time, the implants can sometimes be absorbed very quickly after only a few weeks if they are broken down by the body. The reason for this is not clear but is much more likely to occur if an infection takes place immediately following the procedure.