NEW LIPS - For keeps, by Dr. Brueck, MD

This is one in a series of blog messages on the subject of cosmetic surgery and beauty, presented by Dr. Robert Brueck, MD, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon practicing in Cape coral and Fort Myers, Florida. For more information about cosmetic procedures, see Dr. Brueck's web site at Beauty-by-Brueck.com

Many Hollywood stars tout their big beautiful luscious lips.

The look has become quite popular over the last several years. The mainstays to provide new and bigger lips have been injectible fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm and the like. One of the procedures I now do is a permanent lip implant that is tapered at both ends and has a very soft and natural appearance. It provides stable permanent lip enhancement. It is a simple, outpatient, 45-minute procedure that we usually do with sedation. No more painful injections and they last forever. Most of the fillers injected into the lips lasted 2 to 6 months and then the patients had to return for additional injections.

The newest and latest trend is “muscle grafting”.

In the journal, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, some doctors describe a technique that they have used on 25 patients to augment their lips.

What do they do? They take a piece of the patient’s neck muscle with the overlying fascia and implant it into their lips. This was done frequently in conjunction with a facelift. They say the pink show of the upper and lower lips has increased 20 to 24%.

Is it worth it? You be the judge. As with any cosmetic surgery it is only worth it, if it is important to you.