Augmenting the lips with grafts of muscle and connective tissue from the neck appears to result in improved appearance for at least two years, according to a new report.
The report followed a study in which plastic surgeons treated 25 consecutive patients who underwent lip augmentation with segments of their own sternocleidomastoid muscle and fascia.
All patients had a minimum follow-up of one year. After an average of two years, the amount of vermilion showing increased by an average of 20 per cent to 24 per cent for the upper and lower lip. In addition, the average projection of the upper and lower lip increased by an average of 0.9 to 0.99 millimeters. The patients were subjectively pleased with the results, although one requested additional lip augmentation with an injectable gel.
The muscle and fascia can be removed during a concurrent face lift with few complications, the authors note, and are readily incorporated by the lip. There were no deformities in lip contour, limitations in head movement, neck pain or nerve injuries associated with the grafts.
“The postoperative recovery after sternocleidomastoid fascia and muscle grafts to the lips is straightforward,” the authors write. “After the first month of lip swelling, the patient should expect that the lips will still be slightly swollen.”
The senior author’s experience has been that approximately 75 per cent of the immediate intraoperative lip fullness is maintained at one month post-operatively, while approximately 50 per cent of the immediate intraoperative lip fullness is maintained at one year postoperatively.” The surgeon must account for this decrease in the size of grafts initially implanted, they note.
“With careful patient selection and surgical technique, sternocleidomastoid muscle and fascia implantation is a valuable tool when treating the ageing lip,” the authors concluded.
Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery 2010;12:97-102
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