By: Thomas Buonassisi, MD

Full lips give the face a younger and more attractive appearance, so many women (and men) are interested in how they can correct lost volume or improve the shape of their lips through lip enhancement in Vancouver. Here are a few basic facts you need to know in order to compare the options – injectable fillers and lip surgery – and choose the right one for you.

Injectable fillers:

• How they work: Injectable fillers augment the lips’ natural volume using gel-like dermal fillers such as JUVÉDERM® Injectable Gel or Evolence. Fillers differ, but the most common are made of collagen or hyaluronic acid, substances that occur naturally within the body.
• Pros: Because these treatments are not permanent, they also allow the surgeon and the patient more flexibility to adjust the results of the initial lip enhancement in Vancouver. Also, products like JUVÉDERM® Injectable Gel, a top choice for both injectable lip enhancement and correction of naso-labial folds, may actually increase the body’s natural production of collagen, which enhances the volume and firmness of skin tissues.
• Cons: Lip injections may create numbness for one or two days, and most have to be updated periodically as the gel is absorbed by the body.

Lip surgery:

• How it works: There are two main surgical procedures that can create permanent enhancement of the upper lip:
  • With a VY advancement, otherwise known as a “lip roll,” I reconstruct the lip from the inside to create an advancement of the vermillion (the red-tinted area of the lips). With this procedure, I use an intricate stitching technique to effectively “roll” the top lip outward without using any implants or fillers. The final appearance shows more of the soft pink area of the lip.
  • The second option is known as a bullhorn lip lift, in which case I will place a small incision just below the nose and lift the top lip closer to the nose, in the process allowing more of the pink vermillion to show. This technique for lip enhancement is ideal for Vancouver patients who have a longer-than-usual space between their nose and their top lip.
• Pros: Unlike filler treatments which are typically temporary and need to be repeated, surgical options last for years to come.
• Cons: Surgical approaches to lip advancement require more recovery time than do filler treatments:
  • With the VY advancement in particular, swelling and discomfort in some patients may take a few weeks to subside completely. Some patients find the trade-off worthwhile and are willing to endure a longer recovery period in order to enjoy fuller lips without having to receive regular filler treatments.
  • The bullhorn lip lift recovery is typically simple and involves very little discomfort. The patient does have a thin, permanent scar where the nose meets the lip; however, this scar fades significantly over time. When I perform this procedure at my plastic surgery clinic in Vancouver, I take extra care to ensure that it will not be easily noticeable after the patient has recovered.

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