Plumper, fuller lips can create a desirable look for women. However, not everyone is born with naturally large lips. Women who desire a more prominent lip may choose a lip augmentation procedure with Dallas, plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven J. White, to create a natural appearing upper and lower lip that looks and feels plumper and fuller. Women seeking dramatic, permanent results may consider lip implants. Made with a synthetic, flexible material that provides outstanding fullness, lip implants can last a lifetime and create gorgeous results. There are also numerous nonsurgical options including injectable fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane, as well as fat transfer procedures that inject fat taken from the patient’s body and inserting it into the lips. Dr. White can discuss all of these options during the initial consultation.

• Permanent:

Women who wish to change the size and shape of their lips once without the worry of routine injections to maintain their look, turn to lip implants to attain their aesthetic goals. This is a surgical procedure that uses a silicone implant, or an implant made out of Gore-Tex that provides a permanent increase in lip size. The silicone material offers a natural, soft result; while synthetic Gore-Tex offers a fuller result with a firmer feel.

• Temporary:

Countless women come to our plastic surgery office for routine injections into the lips. Injectable fillers are a great option to create fuller, plumper lips because they are temporary, less expensive and pose less risk than surgery. There are a variety of filler products available including those made of hyaluronic acid, collagen, or calcium hydroxyapatite. Our office carries numerous brands and depending on the condition of the lips and the desired results, an appropriate filer will be used. Another nonsurgical option is a fat transfer. This process involves removing fat from one part of the body using liposuction, and then refining it and injecting it into the lips using a fine syringe.  

Lip implant surgery is performed in an accredited surgical facility under general local anesthesia or IV sedation. It is a relatively short procedure that takes about a full hour. Small incisions are typically made on the outer corner of the mouth. These incisions allow the surgeon to create a tunnel within the lip where the implant can then be placed. The implants are placed in a surgical pocket that is created within the internal lip structure and tissue, and once closed with incisions, remain in place for years.

There is little to no scarring with this procedure.

Lip augmentation using an injectable filer takes place right inside our office. The patient’s lips are numbed with a numbing agent, and then the chosen filler is injected through a syringe until the desired fullness has been achieved. This process typically needs to be repeated every 6-8 months depending on how fast the patient’s body absorbs the injected material.

After lip augmentation, regardless of the method used, the lips will instantly look larger. Surgery using an implant will cause the lips to swell and some discomfort may follow, but this will subside in just a few days. Patients are able to return to normal activities within about a week. Exercise should be limited for a couple of weeks. In most cases, the sutures used during surgery will dissolve on their own. Injectable fillers require no downtime. The lips will be slightly swollen for just a day or so. The results from both procedures are beautiful, fuller lips that allow our patients to feel sexier and younger in appearance.

There are benefits to using an implant, as well as an injectable filler. Some women may choose to start with a filler and love their results so much, switch over to an implant for a permanent result. With so many options for women to choose from, it helps to talk to a board-certified plastic surgeon that specializes in facial enhancements. We invite you to call our plastic surgery office today and discuss the options so that a treatment plan can be created to give you the results you desire.