By Dr. Ramakant Bembde, Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery
Lip augmentation refers to a cosmetic procedure where very thin and ill-defined lips are made fuller, plump attractive to enhance their appearance. This is achieved by injecting dermal filler either near the mouth or in your lips; most common among them are substances, which are akin to hyaluronic acid, a natural substance or patient’s own tissue – autologous fat grafts, that increases the volume of the lips.
Caution should be used to ensure proper placement of the filler material to avoid any complications, hence it should be done by a trained experienced plastic surgeon.
The procedure entails the following steps. They are:
- Local anaesthesia: After markings on lips, like any other procedure, the first step that precedes all the other is injecting a local anaesthesia to block the sensations of lips. This is done primarily to reduce the discomfort that generally accompanies the procedure by creating a numbing effect on the lips.
- Harvesting the fat grafts: The procedure of lip augmentation is extremely simple and can be done with little or no effort. If we are using autologous fat fillers for lip augmentation, it requires the aid of liposuction to remove fat from a different part of your body.
- Injecting the areas: After numbing the lips, very fine needles are used to inject the filler substance in your lip.
- Providing ice: After the injections, in order to lessen the discomfort and the subsequent swelling, ice is applied to the injected areas.
Though the procedure appears simple, it does have few minor risks. Some of them are:
- Bleeding: After the procedure, you may experience minor bleeding from the sites where the injections were administered in the first place.Gentle compression for few minutes will stop the bleeding easily.
- Swelling: Your lip may temporarily swell and even bruise after the procedure. Though it is generally harmless temporary, a visit to a doctor may prove to be useful.
- Infections: Infection is always a nagging fear that accompanies any surgery and the procedure of lip augmentation is no different. In order to avert this, proper care and cautionary measures must be taken.
Hence such fillers treatment should be performed in a good hospital setup with all advanced facilities not in some beauty salons or office clinic. Also trained senior plastic surgeon is the best person for such cosmetic procedures.
However, in spite of these risks, the process also has many advantages. Some of them are:
- Fights the process of ageing: Advancement of age adversely affects your looks, as your lips lose their firmness and droop. An augmentation of lips in such a situation helps to improve the overall appearance.
- Improve self-confidence: An ill-shaped pair of lips can easily dampen your looks as well as your confidence. Therefore, it only makes sense to undergo a corrective surgery to regain the lost confidence.