In the quest for fuller lips, women these days will try just about anything. Injections of collagen, fat, silicone, and hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers have all been used, as well as implants made of materials like Alloderm (made from cadaver skin) and Gore-tex (yes, the same stuff used as stuffing in George Costanza's infamous "puffy coat"). There are even surgical procedures to achieve the desired effect, such as the "V-to-Y" lip-plasty, in which internal incisions are made and sewn back together in such a way as to roll the lips outward, making them appear fuller.
Why all this hoopla over a poufy pout? One theory goes that full lips are associated with both youth and fertility, so we desire a fuller, more luscious pucker to make us look younger and more desirable. Part of it can no doubt be traced to the popularity of celebrities like Angelina Jolie, whose naturally full mouth (among other things) makes her the envy of women around the globe. Other theories are a little too racy to get into in a blog about plastic surgery.
Now there is a new entrant into the lip-enhancing ring, reported in a recent issue of the medical journal, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery (AFPS). The procedure uses grafts from the neck muscles (the sternocleidomastoid muscles, or SCM, to be exact). The SCM are the muscles responsible for turning the head and for drawing it in toward the chest. The study published in AFPS showed satisfactory results at an average two year follow-up, with no evidence of head movement being affected by this procedure.
The conclusion of the journal article states that:
"The surgeon must account for some degree of postoperative graft resorption and atrophy when determining the size of the grafts to be transplanted, [but] with careful patient selection and surgical technique, SCM muscle and fascia implantation is a valuable tool when treating the aging lip."
See lip augmentation before and after photos.
See more plastic surgery before and after photos.
