How long does fat transfer to lips last?

While it is true that whatever fat gains a blood supply will be permanent, I do not recommend this procedure.  The amount of fat that "takes" is highly variable and unpredictable.  In addition, the contour may not be smooth.  This would be very difficult to correct.Instead, I would recommend the safety and reliability of Juvederm filler injection.  For a permanent result, silicone lip implants are a better choice.Hope that helps!

Good question, as a lot of confusion exists about this subject. For longer term results, fat transfer is your best option because research suggests that 1/3 of fat transferred becomes permanent. That percentage may be lower in the lips because of the constant motion of that part of the body. Juvederm is another option, but lasts only 2-4 months in the lips, making it expensive for a long term option.

It is hard to predict how long fat will last in the lips.  For some people the fat to the lips does not last as long as it does to other areas of the face.  This may be due to the large amount of movement in the area.  The same goes for the other fillers.  Some of the fat will always resorb.  What remains after a few months should last a long time.  

Properly performed fat transfer will result in the most natural and long lasting result of any technique now known. I have patients with fat transfer to lips that have maintained an improvement for almost 2 decades. Long term, fat transfer will almost always be the most cost effective option.

Fat is a great option if you want permanent. You can overcorrect at first and some will dissolve. I like Fillers better because you can get exactly what you want.

The latter statement is correct. Once it takes, it is forever.  Fat is a good option, but may need to be done additional times to get the desired result.

Dear Lisaham,

In general, a well performed fat transplantation with an
atraumatic, or minimally traumatic harvest technique, some sort of preparation
separation followed by delicate structural fat transplantation can result in
many of the transplanted fat cells and adipocyte derived stem cells living and
providing shape and contour in the host substrate.

I have been performing fat grafting to the face for over 20
years having been trained by Dr. Syd Coleman in New York City. I have found that fat grafting to stable
non-animated areas of the face and body such as the temporal hollows, under
eyes, above the brows, dorsum of the nose, across the high cheekbones and jaw
line has relatively good take between 40% and 70% of the fat will take and
survive for many years. How the animated
areas such as the nasolabial fold, Marionette line and lips tends to have a
dynamic tensile force on the fat grafts and they do not seem to last as
long. Although every busy certified
cosmetic plastic surgeon will have some patients whose fat grafting to the lips
has lasted a long time, most doctors will give patients ranges of longevity
between 6-8 months and several years.

With some of the long-term and excellent off the shelf
hyaluronic acid sugar gels such as Juvederm Voluma come on Juvederm Volbella
and Juvederm Volift and the superiority of fat grafting to the lips is now
shifted more towards an off the shelf long lasting Juvederm injection
effect. Many times Juvederm Voluma can
last almost a year in the lips essentially as long as a large proportion of the
fat transplanted patients. Juvederm has
the advantage for not having as much extensive swelling or bruising as fat
grafting and adapting an aesthetically pleasing form much quicker.

The advantage of fat grafting as donor sites can be contoured
and giving you a liposuction or lipo contouring improvement at the same time. As you can see this is a complex question you have
raised. There is no right answer. You should seek out the advice of a certified
plastic surgeon with many many years of facial aesthetic experience and use of
a wide range of injectables including fat grafting.

I hope this information has been of some assistance and best
of luck.

For more information, please review the link below.

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto