Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

POSTED UNDER Lip Implants REVIEWS

Lip Lift and 5mm Surgisil Lip Implants Top and Bottom - Charleston, SC

ORIGINAL POST

Hi, all. I started researching a permanent...

RaRvn
WORTH IT$2,800
Hi, all. I started researching a permanent solution for my aging, thinning lips about six months ago. I tried Juvederm, which wasn't bad, but didn't help all that much or for very long. I thought about silicone injections and had a consult with a local plastic surgeon. I liked his results, but then I found out liquid silicone is not FDA approved for injection into the lips or face, so I decided against that option. The only approved permanent lip augmentation/implant I found here in the US was the Surgisil PermaLip implant. Their website has a list of trained and authorized surgeons and one happened to be in my city. I did a check on him and found out that all he does is facial reconstruction and cosmetic surgery. He brings children here from all over the world to fix their facial deformities, tumors, hemangiomas, cleft palates, etc. So I made an appointment for a consultation. His staff is great and his offices are lovely. After listening to my goals he informed me that an implant would not be an improvement over my disappointing filler experience because I had two problems - a long philtrum (about 2 cm; should be about 1.1 cm for a female), and also since my upper lip was essentially rolled under an implant wouldn't have much of an impact because it is inserted at the wet-dry border of the lip and wouldn't really be seen. He didn't think implants would be worth the cost or down-time.
I had never heard of a lip lift so he spent a great deal of time educating me on the procedure. He told me to research and think about it a let him know what I wanted to do. After looking into it, I realized he was right - I needed a lip lift for sure and decided to have implants as well since a lift doesn't help with volume. I had both procedures done on Aug 30th.
On procedure day the nurse gave me 10 mg valium and 50 mg Nucynta (a narcotic) about 45 minutes prior to my surgery. I was taken to the procedure room, covered, draped with only my face exposed. An automatic blood pressure cuff was placed on my right arm and my face was wiped down with betadine. The surgeon then came in and asked if I was comfortable and ready to proceed. I was kind of loopy by then, so I was like "sure, go for it!". The numbing injections hurt like hell, I can't lie. But I had three different procedures (lip lift, lip implants, chin implant) so that was A LOT of injections. As for what happened after that, I don't really know. They covered my eyes with a soft cloth and I drifted in and out of sleep while he did his thing. The only thing I felt was the scraping of my jawbone for the chin implant pocket - that woke me up for sure. Before I knew it I was done.
I'm now on day 3 and haven't really had any pain from the lift or lip implants. It's just kind of stiff and tight. The chin is another story altogether. And a different review. All in all, it was an easy procedure and I've only taken pain meds for the chin pain. The swelling is not as bad as I anticipated and I have little, if any, bruising so far.
I'm posting pics from before and from the last three days. Good luck to the rest of you and let me know if I can answer any questions. (:

RaRvn's provider

Marcelo Hochman, MD

Marcelo Hochman, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

RaRvn rating for Dr. Hochman:

Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

Replies (10)

User Avatar
September 2, 2016

A nice difference! Thank you very much for sharing the details and please keep us posted as the swelling continues to go down. Are you buying lots of new lipstick and lipgloss?

September 2, 2016
Thanks, Angie. I do plan to upload pictures every day to show progress I haven't done today's photos yet, but will upload later today. And yes! I do plan to visit Ulta and Sephora when I no longer look like a duck!
User Avatar
September 5, 2016

Haha. Thank you so much for all of your awesome photos!

User Avatar
September 3, 2016
On the Permalip, what size did you do top and bottom? I think your lips look great!. He appears to have taken off quite a bit and the lip implants actually look great. So does the chin from what I can see. Are there any stitches that need to be removed from your lips and under your nose? or are they the dissovable ones?
September 3, 2016
Hi there. The implants are 5 mm top and bottom. I don't know how common a problem this is, but my surgeon told me he stopped doing 3mm & 4mm (small and medium) because every one of his patients was unhappy with the underwhelming result. I knew I needed 5 mm because as you can see from my before pic (ugh) I had like, no lips and lots of perioral wrinkles. Yes, I have sutures that need to be removed. He did not use dissolvable sutures and does not use dissolvable in the face at all. I get them out at 7 days. I'm posting day 4 pics in a minute. :)
User Avatar
September 3, 2016
Interesting, the 5mms look great. I would love to see how you feel in another month or two, if they feel natural to you, not like a foreign body in your lips or any hardness. I do not like the idea of dissolvable stitches. There have been too many stories here about problems with those. (Less work for doctors, but many more problems for us) Watching your progress because this is the exact procedure I want. (except chin, I got that in 2007).
User Avatar
September 3, 2016
I was just looking at the cost. Was it $2800 for the 2 permalip implants or is that for everything? if not, what did your doc charge you for the lip lift, if you don't mind me asking?
September 3, 2016
The $2800 was for the upper and lower implants only. The lip lift was an additional $1500.
October 3, 2016
They look great! I hope you're thrilled with them - a really nice result.
March 4, 2018
The results are fantastic. I too struggle with verticals lip lines. I have implants and have had fraxel done and threads with some improvement, but not fantastic. how did the lip lift help resolve your lines? how long was the downtime and recovery from the lip lift? Really look great.
UPDATED FROM RaRvn
4 days post

Day 4 - So far so good

RaRvn
So, my surgery was on Tuesday and the new pics are from Friday. I've been counting Tuesday as day 1, but the pics are actually 72 hours post-op. I haven't had any pain and very little swelling or bruising from the lip lift or implants. I think that is because my doc started me on a 6-day Medrol pack and Arnika Forte pre-op. My chin hasn't even bruised and from the reviews I've seen chin implants usually produce some stunning bruising. The chin DOES hurt quite a bit and I have had to take some pain meds for that. All in all, the lips really feel no more painful than the day after a round of Juvederm injections, though the incisions at the corners of the lips are annoying. The subnasal incision from the lift doesn't bother me at all. Here are some day 4 pics (72 hours really). I'm happy to answer questions, so fire away.

Replies (4)

User Avatar
September 5, 2016
The medicine taken before the procedure was to help with brusing ? Where you given that because of the chin implant ?
September 5, 2016
Hi. No, the Medrol pack is given to all facial surgery patients, starting the morning before surgery. It's a course of 21 tablets; 6 the first day, 5 the second day, 4 the third day, as so on. It's a steroid used to minimize swelling and inflammation. Everyone gets antibiotics too, also started the morning prior to surgery. The Arnika Forte was optional. It's for bruising, started two days prior to surgery and taken for a total of 6 days. The valium was for anxiety prior to/during surgery and Nucynta was a pre-op narcotic to minimize pain during surgery. I would have gotten all those meds even without the chin procedure. Though I can't say for sure, I do believe I had no swelling/bruising in or around the lips or nose because of the Medrol/Arnika meds. Hope that helps!
User Avatar
September 8, 2016
Thank you for explaining that to me I am having lip implants done on the 23 and no mention of any medication I guess I will email the doctor
September 8, 2016
That's only two weeks away! You must be so excited! Good luck and if you think of any other questions I may be able to help with just ask away. I hope everything goes just great for you. (:
UPDATED FROM RaRvn
4 days post

Philtrum Length and Chin Implant Explanation

RaRvn
I made a side by side illustration of the difference in philtrum length from the lip lift. You will NOT get this result from implants alone. Implants are placed well below the vermillion border and will not decrease the space between the lip and base of the nose. Implants will project the lip outward, but not upward. I really want to be clear that the results seen in my photos are in large part due to the lift, not implants alone.

The chin implant I had inserted is a pre-jowl implant. If you look at the picture you can see that there is very little material augmenting the chin itself; the implant is meant to fill in the pre-jowl sulcus where bone has been absorbed due to natural aging and creates the look of jowls in the area just behind the prejowl sulcus. I did not want an invasive neck lift (which would have left the prejowl dent anyway) so I opted to fill the depression with an implant instead. Make no mistake, the recovery from this procedure is painful indeed. I did not use pain meds after my breast augmentation (500cc under the muscle) or my lip lift/implants, but I have had to take narcotics for the chin pain and am still taking them 4 days later. Also, I did not have any treatment to the wrinkles around my lips/chin area. Will have to evaluate that situation once all the swelling is gone, but the difference is unbelievable.

Replies (4)

User Avatar
September 3, 2016
Wow, the difference in your philitrum is amazing! So many of the doctors don't take out enough. I guess it really depends on where your teeth are too. Your surgeon did a really good job! I also like the way he hid the stitches up into your nostrils. I may have to plan a surgical vacation up in SC!
September 3, 2016
I think he did a phenomenal job. I was prepared for massive swelling and bruising like I've seen in other reviews, but as you can see the aftermath is literally no worse than the day or two after filler injections. And I have had no pain at all. If not for the chin situation I could easily have tolerated the lift/implants with no pain meds at all afterwards. If you're serious about coming to Charleston for your procedure, let me know. I'll be happy to help you out and nurse you afterwards. If you can somehow get me your phone number on here I'll call you and we can talk. :)
User Avatar
September 3, 2016
Thank you so much. I still have to save up for it, but your operation is the best I have seen so far, amazing, so I am definitely going to keep up with your progress.
September 26, 2016
Honestly, I am stunned at the difference! You look twenty years younger.