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Lip augmentation is
commonly performed at plastic surgicentre in
Doha, Qatar. Lip augmentation is a
procedure to increase the size of the lips
in order to make them more full and
voluptuous. It often involves putting
something into the lips to fill them up. A
variety of substances have been used for
this purpose including fat or fibrous tissue
from your own body, or other materials such
as collagen, silicon, goretex fibers, etc.
In addition, there are surgical techniques
for bringing some of the tissue from the
inside part of the lip out to make the lip
look bigger.
If you are self-conscious about your lips,
then this surgery can open up many new
possibilities for changing your image, and
you can further enhance them with new
lipstick, makeup, etc. As with most cosmetic
surgery, the benefit you derive will depend
upon the change in attitude that you will
have about yourself as a result of the
surgery.
Technique:
A natural or synthetic
biocompatible material, or the patient's own
fat, is injected or implanted in the lips.
One injection is usually sufficient to
produce the desired result, which may be
temporary, depending on the material used.
Injections may need to be repeated
periodically. Proper placement of the
injected material is important. AlloDerm, a
natural collagen sheet made from donated
skin, is inserted through tiny incisions
inside the corners of the mouth. Once the
AlloDerm implant is in place, it eventually
becomes integrated with the natural tissues.
Gore-Tex, SoftForm and soft ePTFE are other
synthetic implant options.
 
Further options include:
- Autologen - injectable dermal implant
material made from the patient's own skin.
- Dermalogen - injectable Human Tissue
Matrix (HTM) procured from donor tissue.
- Fascia - injectable donor tissue made
from the dense white connective tissue
that supports body structure. Can also be
done as a surgical implant.
- HylaForm - a crystal-clear injectable
gel; the hyaluronic acid in Hylaform is
similar to that naturally found in the
body.
- Radiance - calcium hydroxylapatite
- Restylane - crystal-clear injectable
gel; the hyaluronic acid in Restylane is
very close to that naturally found in the
body.
Another augmentation choice is laser lip
rejuvenation, which tightens the natural
collagen and elastic tissue beneath the
lips.
Benefits:
- Immediate return to normal activities
(one-day return if sedated) for
nonsurgical procedures; depending on the
procedure and materials used, recovery
period is within a week for surgical
procedures.
- AlloDerm and Dermalogen do not require
patients to provide donor tissue and are
not rejected by the body, because they are
human tissue. Usually they have a pliable,
natural feel.
- Gore-Tex implants are permanent,
easily inserted and well tolerated by the
body.
- Temporary procedures like collagen or
fat injection can be appealing to patients
who want to experiment with a
fuller-lipped look, but not necessarily
commit to it.
Other Considerations:
- Allergic reactions can range from
prolonged redness, swelling or itching, to
firmness at the injection site. Other
possible complications include bleeding,
lip asymmetry, and migration and extrusion
of the implant. Normal swelling and
bruising lasts from three days to a week.
- Patients with a reaction to the
pre-treatment collagen skin test; who have
a serious allergy history; or are allergic
to lidocaine (a local anesthetic) should
not consider lip augmentation. Treatment
is sometimes postponed for patients with
active inflammatory skin conditions or
with infections.
- Collagen injections have a short-lived
effect (9-12 weeks); fat injections
provide longer-lasting results, but are
sometimes unpredictable as to the degree
of improvement, can have lumping or
scarring effects, and must be harvested
from another part of the body.
- Soft-form is a foreign body and may
become infected or be rejected. While many
techniques exist for lip augmentation,
none are ideal.
Several alternatives exist. Lipstick and
makeup may be used to make the lips appear
larger than they are. Tattooing of the lips
has also been done in order to give the
appearance of larger size. Surgical
correction includes filling the lips or in
rolling tissue from the inside of the lip
towards the outside.
Fortunately, although the lips are quite
sensitive, they are not too sensitive to
small cuts (which happen all the time from
the teeth), and pain after the surgery is
usually quite minimal. During the surgery,
of course, the lip would be numb, and it
would not hurt at all.
Unfortunately, the results will not last
forever. The body is always changing, and
will absorb fat or collagen that is placed
in the lips. In addition, the lips get
smaller with age, and surgery will not halt
this process.
You may decide to make the lips too big at
first, in order to have the augmentation
last longer. In this case, you may look a
bit peculiar for the first few days after
the surgery, and may want to stay home from
work. Most normal activities can be resumed
within a few days.
The information on this web site is only
intended as an introduction to this
procedure and should not be used to
determine whether you will have the
procedure performed nor as a guarantee of
the result.
The best method of determining your personal
options is to schedule a personal
consultation with Dr. Makki. He will be able
to answer specific questions related to your
situation.
Please don't hesitate to call for any
questions that you might have
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