Lip Enhancement

Full lips are one of today’s most sought-after signs of beauty.  Fortunately, women born with thin lips or whose lips have lost their plumpness due to aging now have options for achieving the mouth they desire.  There are variations, but the path to full lips generally moves in two directions: injectable fillers or implanted materials.  While injectable fillers offer an economical, nonsurgical solution, most products require treatments to be repeated.  Implanted materials offer the benefit of permanence, but cost more and require downtime for surgery.  Each of the alternatives available offer benefits and drawbacks.  Dr. Sykes has performed all types of lip enhancement for reconstructive and cosmetic purposes and can discuss his experience and opinions of which will best suit your particular needs.  In the end, the choice of approach depends on what you want to achieve, your budget, and the amount of downtime you can allow for recovery.

In your case
A personal consultation with Dr. Sykes gives you the opportunity to discuss your desires and explore the alternatives to achieving the look you’re after.  The doctor will provide options to address the issues that bother you and create a harmonious balance of features.  If you are considering any surgical procedure requiring sedation in tandem with lip augmentation, you may opt for a permanent implant or fat transfer of your own body fat to plump up your lips. 

What to expect
Because the options are numerous and procedures and results vary with each person, a conversation with Dr. Sykes will help you determine the alternative that will match your needs.  Your doctor can then provide you with more detailed information about the product and procedure. 

In general, except for collagen-containing products that require allergy testing four weeks in advance, treatment with injectable fillers can be accomplished in a single office visit.  Lip implants, such as Gore-Tex®-based SoftForm implants, require surgical placement, typically performed with a local anesthetic or under light sedation if performed in tandem with other procedures.  Fat injections of your own body fat require light sedation to enable the doctor to extract fat from one site, purify it, and inject it into your lips. 

Results
All available products add volume to the lips, but the look each achieves and how long the result lasts varies by product and individual body physiology.  By talking through your desires with your doctor, you can arrive at the best choice for you.