Fat transfer to lips. (photo)

I have done fat augmentation of the upper and lower lips for 35 years. The lips will have a very good result if the patient puts up with a few weeks of looking over done to achieve a much better one year result which is permanent.this procedure is very much based on the skill and experience of the surgeon doing it so select your surgeon carefully.      

I do this almost everyday in my practice.  It is very common but needs a meticulous surgeon and should be combined with growth factors like PRP to get the best outcome.  Restylane Silk is a great alternative if you want to see what your lips look like without something more permanent.  Go to an expert for this type of treatment.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Fat can be transferred to lips.  Unfortunately this is an area where the graft survival is unpredictable.  In areas of minimal movement such as the cheeks, the fat usually survives.  But in the lips, where there is a lot of movement a large % will sometimes resorb. Adding excessive amounts of fat to try to compensate for this does not help as it overwhelms the blood supply and most of it will go away.  For this reason, HA fillers are often used since they don't require another procedure to harvest the fat.  If I am doing fat to other areas of the face, I will offer to also do the lips. But I don't normally do a fat graft only to the lips.    

Fat transfer to the lips is unpredictable.  I generally over correct with up to 8 to 12 cc for the lips knowing that most of the fat cells will not survive.  Regardless of fastidious technique and experience, the challenge is that lips don't inherently have fit in them.  It's a different tissue.  Fat lives best where there is already fat (cheeks, buttocks).  For optimal results for lip grafting, be sure to seek out a plastic surgeon who has a lot of experience with fat transfer.  More Q and A in my link below.

Great question.  One of the reasons you do not see a lot in this area of the face is, despite the fact we've gotten quite good at fat transfer to majority of the face, lips are still disappointing.  Many think this is because they move so much, its hard for fat to take there.  Most plastic surgeons tend to lean towards the use of fillers such as restylane  for the lips, which does work quite well, is long lasting, yet not permanent, which can be both a plus and a minus!  

Others have weighed in on fat transfer and dermal fillers, but I would like to add that you have the option of lip implants as well. Permalip implants are soft silicone implants for lip augmentation. They are a safe, FDA-approved, permanent option. They are not necessarily my first choice but some patients are very pleased with the results.

Thanks for the question.  It is probably less common to use fat into the lip due to increased variability of if survivial.  However when done properly and with good results, it gives a lastly fullness without any further need for Juvaderm or other fillers.  

I have achieved consistent results using fat grafting to the lips that retain noticeable results after almost 2 decades vs reinjection every 9 months on average for HA's. Fat grafting is and feels natural and when larger volumes are needed it becomes much more cost-effective.Fat grafting is a very meticulous technique that requires attention to detail at every step. I recommend you seek out surgeons who are very experienced with fat grafting and ask to see results especially long-term results of patients similar to you.