Lip correction- Questions & Answers
We want to give you answers to the most common questions about lip correction in advance.
Lip contours
The shape and volume of the lips characterize a person’s first impression in fractions of a second. Raised corners of the mouth have a sympathetic effect. Full and well-formed lips are perceived as attractive. An exact understanding of the age-related changes as well as a detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the lips are decisive for the success of the treatment. A frequent treatment error is undifferentiated and inappropriate lip enlargement, although other treatment methods are necessary instead of or in addition to injection.
The border zone between the red of the lips and the skin around the lips forms a harmonious, slightly raised transition. The border between the upper lip red and the skin above the lip is called the “cupid arch”. In the area between the upper lip and the nose there is a vertical groove, also called “philtrum”. The natural height ratio between the upper lip and the area between the upper lip and the nose lies between 1:1,2 and 1:2,3. A loss of fat tissue or bone mass, intensive sun exposure or smoking can impair these ratios. By nature, the lower lip is slightly higher than the upper lip. The ratio between the upper and lower lip red is between 1:1 and 1:1.6. Seen from the side, the silhouette of the upper lip usually towers over the contour of the lower lip by slightly more than one millimetre. When the opening of the mouth is slightly relaxed, about two millimetres of the incisors are usually visible. Eight different facial muscles that unite at the corner of the mouth (also called “modiolus”) reveal our current mood. The tension of these muscles can cause laugh dimples, wrinkles between the lower lip and chin (also called puppets wrinkles) or wrinkles between the nostrils and the corner of the mouth.
1: Upper lip = 14mm
2: Lower lip = 22mm. Upper lip to lower lip ratio = 1:1.6
3: Protruding upper lip = 3.5mm
4: Protruding lower lip = 2.2mm
5: Height of upper lip white = 18-20mm
6: height of the distance lower lip – chin = 36-40mm
From birth until old age, the shape of the lips, the red of the lips, the proportions of the lips, the contours of the lips, the volume of the lips and the skin around the lips change. These changes are partly due to our genetic make-up. If our facial features do not reflect our inner sensitivities, posture, personality or health, various treatments can reconcile them. As a rule, these procedures can be performed under local or surface anesthesia.
What lip enhancement techniques do we offer?
In order to achieve a harmonious result, it is often necessary to combine different techniques.
injection
Injection can be particularly effective in achieving the following changes:
- Increase lip volume.
- Increase in lip diameter forward parallel to the tip of the nose (projection).
- Correction of vertical lip wrinkles on the upper lip (pleats, smoker wrinkles, “perioral wrinkles”).
- Correction of wrinkles between lower lip and chin (mentolabial wrinkles, puppet wrinkles).
- Correction of wrinkles between the wing of the nose and the corner of the mouth (nasolabial wrinkles).
- Correction of chin wrinkles (horizontal wrinkles between lower lip and chin).
An injection can be performed with nanofat or hyaluronic acid. The effect of hyaluronic acid lasts about six to nine months. The nanofat treatment leads to a lasting result.
Muscle relaxant
The removal of skin wrinkles serves the treatment of:
- The removal of skin wrinkles serves the treatment of:
- Deep nasolabial wrinkles.
Direct skin tightening
The removal of skin wrinkles serves the treatment of:
- The removal of skin wrinkles serves the treatment of:
- Deep nasolabial wrinkles.
Deep nasolabial wrinkles can usually be harmoniously corrected by face lifting and own fat treatment. The best individual procedure can be recommended during the consultation and examination.
Needling and therapy with the body’s own blood
The combination of PRP and Needling with three repetitions at intervals of two to six weeks helps against:
- vertical lip wrinkles on the upper lip (pleats, smoker wrinkles, “perioral wrinkles”).
Why should you entrust yourself to an experienced plastic and aesthetic surgeon?
Improving the shape, proportions, contours, volume or skin around the lips requires more than just mastering a treatment method such as lip injection. The choice of the individually best treatment method should not be based on the abilities of the doctor, but on the needs of the patient.
Only an experienced doctor can also quickly identify and treat possible adverse effects. The muscle relaxant used is a prescription drug. Hyaluronic acid does not require a prescription. However, the antidote Hylase® does, which should always be available in an emergency.
Only approved and certified products of safe origin may be used for treatment, and hygiene rules must be observed. In addition, precise knowledge of the anatomy is important. Disregarding natural proportions quickly leads to an unnatural result.
How can you prepare for a lip correction?
- Any questions regarding possible complications as well as alternative forms of treatment will be answered prior to the treatment appointment.
- Keep nicotine and alcohol consumption to a minimum.
- Filler and hyaluronic acid treatments should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation.
- Drugs that thin the blood (such as ASS or Thomapyrin®) must be discontinued 10 days before treatment (after consulting your doctor).
- Vitamin preparations (A, E) and food supplements (omega-3 fatty acids, St. John’s wort preparations, etc.) must be stopped at least four weeks before the operation.
- Keep ice cubes or cooling pads on hand for the day of treatment at home. This way, when you get home, you can cool the skin after the injection.
- If you suffer from cold sores (herpes), you should tell them so that they can be prevented.
- It is highly recommended to take out follow-up insurance before undergoing an aesthetic procedure.
What do you need to keep in mind after lip surgery?
- For two to three days, the upper body should be elevated by about 30 degrees when lying down. This is also true when sleeping. In addition, frequent cooling of the lips promotes decongestion and wound healing.
- Showering is allowed from the 1st day after the procedure, just before the appointment for wound control.
- Speaking should be reduced to a minimum in the first 48 hours.
- Chewing gum and hard food should be avoided in the first five days.
- Regular appointments are made to check on your well-being and the results.
- Any skin sutures that may have been inserted are removed approximately 5 to 6 days after the procedure.
- After about one, better two weeks you can go back to work. With VY lip augmentation, swelling, stiffness and loss of sensation can affect drinking and speaking in the first week. Swelling and loss of sensation usually disappear after three to six months.
- From the 3rd week after the procedure, for long-term inconspicuous scars, it is recommended to massage the treated areas several times a day: a few minutes, in circles, transversely as well as longitudinally to the course of the scar. Greasing creams such as Linola® Fett or Bepanthen® Ointment are suitable for this purpose.
- Bending down, lifting heavy loads, swimming, saunas and sporting activities should be avoided for two weeks, possibly longer if swelling still exists.
- Excessive UV radiation (sunbathing/solarium) should be avoided for at least 3 months.
The author
“Our goal is to provide the best, most discreet and precise treatment based on our extensive expertise in plastic surgery. „
Dr. Adelana Santos Stahl is distinguished by a unique international perspective with a feminine view of plastic surgery. Her personalized and detailed approach is key to the beautiful and natural results she achieves. Having trained in Brazil, one of the largest and most well-known countries for aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery, she understands her patients’ desire to look and feel their best. She completed her medical studies and her training as a specialist for plastic and aesthetic surgery in Brazil. In 2009, she also successfully passed the German equivalence examinations for the medical state examination. Two years later, in 2011 she received the German and in 2012 the EU specialist recognition (EBOPRAS) for plastic surgery. From 2009 to 2013, she deepened her knowledge of aesthetic and reconstructive facial surgery with world-renowned representatives of plastic surgery such as Professor Gubisch at the Marienhospital and Madame Firmin in Paris. A VDÄPC Fellowship (continuing fellowship for graduate students) in Switzerland, France and the USA has further enriched her professional experience. Dr. Santos Stahl is active in several prestigious professional societies. Besides the DGPRÄC and DGBT, she is also a member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery – SBCP. She is also the author of several scientific articles and, together with her husband, is dedicated to research and clinical studies in the field of plastic surgery.