Lip augmentation

Lip augmentation is a cosmetic procedure that modifies the shape of the lips using fillers, such as collagen or implants. The procedure may be performed to increase lip size, correct asymmetry, create protrusion, or adjust the ratio of the top and bottom lips. The procedure typically involves surgical injection, though temporary non-surgical alternatives exist. Swelling and bruising are common after lip augmentation, and irritation or allergic reaction may also occur. Lip augmentations can have undesired cosmetic effects, including scarring and lumping, and implants pose the risk of shifting underneath the lip or breaking through the skin. Around 1900, surgeons tried injecting paraffin into the lips without success. Liquid silicone was used for lip augmentation, starting in the early 1960s but was abandoned thirty years later due to fears about the effects of silicone on general health and long term aesthetic outcome. About 1980, injectable bovine collagen was introduced to the cosmetic surgery market and became the standard against which other injectable fillers were measured. However, that collagen does not last very long and requires an allergy test, causing the patient to wait at least three weeks before another appointment, after which more waiting is required to see cosmetic results. The aim of lip augmentation is to provide an aesthetic, symmetric, and healthy appearance for the patient. Naturally, the face is not perfectly symmetric, and if the asymmetry is too big - with lip augmentation, the asymmetry can be corrected. The ideal upper / lower lip ratio is around 1:1.6, and this ratio is also achievable by lip augmentation. In the late 1990s, with the huge popularity of surgical rejuvenation and concomitant increase of cosmetic surgery procedures worldwide, more substances, along with biocompatible materials commonly used in other medical applications for years, became available to surgeons for use in augmenting thinning or misshapen lips into more plump and attractive features.