Surgeons Use Neck Muscle, Surrounding Tissue as Lip Implant

Chicago — 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 report in the March/April issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“Since ancient times, women have used plant dyes and colored clays to enhance their lips,” the authors write as background information in the article. As an individual ages, the groove on the upper lip flattens, the white lip lengthens and the amount of vermilion (pink tissue) that shows decreases. “These progressive age-related changes lead many patients to seek lip augmentation procedures, often as their main concern in the midst of an aging face and neck.”

“The quest for the ideal permanent lip augmentation procedure has been fraught with challenges,” they continue, including resorption, asymmetry, reactions, extrusion, an unnatural feel or appearance and the formation of cysts. Anurag Agarwal, M.D., of The Aesthetic Surgery Center, Naples, Fla., and colleagues report on the results of 25 consecutive patients who underwent lip augmentation with segments of their own sternocleidomastoid, a muscle running along the side of the neck, and the connective tissue that overlies it (fascia).

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New Survey Reveals Americans Trust Their Faces To Facial Plastic Surgeons

New York, NY — No one can get away from aging, but the road divides when it comes to how to age; the smart way or the uninformed way.  A new study commissioned by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the world’s largest association of facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons with over 3,000 members, and conducted by Kelton Research shows that the majority of people look for an experienced, certified facial plastic surgeon over generalists when it comes to facial plastic surgery.  Americans trust their faces to the expertise of facial plastic surgeons.

The majority of Americans siding with expertise are employing informed decision-making skills, reinforcing their desire to make smart choices.  In fact, 80 percent of Americans trust their faces to the surgical expertise and care of a facial plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery of the head, face and neck over generalists.  According to the survey, Americans ages 18-64 are most reliant on facial plastic surgeons, as evidenced by the fact that 83 percent believe they are more qualified to treat their specialized areas than general plastic surgeons.

With the vast number of surgeons in practice today, it is more important than ever to make informed decisions when considering an elective procedure such as facial cosmetic surgery.  Informed decision making is especially crucial as more than half of patients (53 percent) have had multiple procedures in the same year.  Survey results reflect that parents take more interest in the surgeon’s years of experience than their childless counterparts (54 percent versus 46 percent).

Women have the utmost faith in facial plastic surgeons when it comes to turning back the hands of time as it relates to one’s face.  Eighty-three percent believe that facial plastic surgeons are more competent to treat their faces, heads, or necks than a general plastic surgeon; 78 percent of men agree.

The AAFPRS also reports that 85 percent of adult Americans would undergo a facial plastic surgery procedure if given the chance. This same survey reported a 27 percent increase in surgical and non-surgical activity among men and women since 2000.

But what, exactly, would Americans get done if they had the chance of having a free service by a facial plastic surgeon?  Twenty-six percent admitted to wanting an eye lift, followed by neck surgery (21 percent), hair transplants (16 percent), nose jobs (14 percent), facelifts (13 percent), chin augmentation (7 percent), and lip enhancement (3 percent).

Get any of these procedures done by our Doctors: Dr. Roberto Martinez Rinaldi and Dr. Marcos Martinez Ruiz

Rhinoplasty before and after photos