Types of Permanent Lip Implants

There are many substances which are used as permanent lip implants. The most common implants include:

- Advanta

- AlloDerm

- Dermal grafts

- Fascia Grafts

- Gore-Tex

- SoftForm

- Tendon Grafts

- UltraSoft.

Gore-Tex, SoftForm, UltraSoft and Advanta are made of a plastic like material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

Advanta is porous and hollow substance. It allows your own tissue to grow within the implant.

Alloderm is an acellular collagen material made from human donor. The material is purified, and frozen as a powder. Just before use, the powder is reconstituted in water.

The AlloDerm when inserted into the lips integrates into the surrounding tissue and expands the tissues around it.

Lip Implants

Lip implants are permanent and all individuals who undergo this procedure must be realistic and have some idea what the procedure is about. It is highly recommended that before one undergoes a permanent lip implant, one should have tried out a temporary dermal filler.

All lip implants are done as an outpatient procedure in the physician's office. The lips are cleaned and a local anesthetic is injected. This is perhaps the most painful part of the entire procedure. The pain lasts only a few seconds and when the lip is numb the procedure is begun. Incisions are made along the corners of each lip and a space is created to insert the lip implant. The implant is usually trimmed according to the size required. All incisions are closed and the wound is dressed. Lips are very vascular structures and often some degree of bleeding is evident.

All individuals who have lip implants have some degree of lip swelling after the procedure. In most cases, this swelling takes a few days to subside. The lip swelling makes eating, talking and swallowing difficult for the first 48 hours.

The pain varies from mild to moderate and is easily controlled with over the counter pain medications

A few individuals may experience a numbing feeling, particularly in the lower lip area. This numbness usually subsides over the next few weeks.

The minor bruising usually subsides in a few days

If the surgeon uses a non absorbable suture to close the lip incisions, a return visit to the physician is required in 5-7 days to get the sutures removed.

Permanent lip implants are forever.

Like all surgery, lip implants also have a few rare complications which include

- infections which is easily treated with antibiotics

- implant migration

- implant extrusion

- implant allergy and irritation

- implant hardness

- lip discoloration

- lip unevenness

- lip deformity

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