Lip Augmentation Sydney

Why Are Full Lips So Popular?

Full, plump lips are considered beautiful, youthful, and sensual. That is why Lip Augmentation has become such a popular procedure.

Lip Augmentation can be achieved either non-surgically or surgically depending on whether you’re looking for a temporary or permanent solution for fuller lips.

Lip Filler

Regulations Prohibit Australian Doctors Using The Term ‘Lip Filler’ in Advertising

On 7 March 2024, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s government authority responsible for assessing, monitoring, and regulating medicines and medical devices, reinforced its regulations on the advertising of cosmetic injectables.

TGA reminded doctors that Anti Wrinkle Injections, Dermal Fillers, and Fat Dissolving Injections are Schedule 4 prescription medicines and therefore, are not permitted in the advertising of cosmetic health services. Also prohibited are before/after photographs and prices of such treatments. The TGA has the power to prosecute and fine clinics contravening these regulations.

In effect, this means that previously popular terms such as ‘Wrinkle Reducing Injections’, ‘Anti Wrinkle Injections’, ‘Dermal Fillers’, ‘Lip Fillers’ etc. are not permitted on the reasoning that those terms would result in a reasonable consumer understanding that the terms promote the use or supply of a prescription medicine.

On its website, TGA currently states:

“Either directly or indirectly, you cannot make any reference in your advertisement for cosmetic injection services to prescription-only substances or to product trade names of such products. This includes acronyms, nicknames, abbreviations and hashtags, which may be taken by a consumer as a reference to a specific prescription-only medicine or substance.

This includes:

anti-wrinkle injections
dermal fillers
injectable products used for improvement of the appearance of submental fat.”

Accordingly, in compliance with TGA’s regulations, Sydney Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinic regrets to advise that it can no longer provide specific information on its website regarding Lip Filler treatments, nor showcase its ‘before & after’ photographs of such treatments.

Henceforth, all detailed information on Lip Fillers will only be available at a consultation.

Reassuringly, our clinic will continue to provide its full range of non-surgical procedures under the highest of professional standards by ‘doctors only’ as it has always done over the last 30 years!

Fat Grafting to Lips

Using you own body fat for Lip Augmentation can be an alternative to repeated Lip Filler treatments.

In Fat Grafting to the lips, fat is harvested by liposuction from a chosen body area, processed to remove unwanted oils and fluids, and then injected into your lips.

Fat Grafting to the lips is performed in a Licensed Hospital under Local Anaesthesia +/- Sedation or under General Anaesthesia. However, there is no need to stay in hospital. You can return home shortly after the procedure in the company of a responsible adult.

Lips augmented by Fat Grafting should stay plump for five or more years.

The major downside to this technique are the potential risks of prolonged swelling, asymmetry, or a nodular appearance because of the unpredictable absorption/survival rate of the transferred fat cells.

Tissue Grafting to Lips

An alternative to Fat Grafting for lip augmentation is to use a piece of your own skin to plump up the lips. For example, an excised Caesarean scar or a strip of skin removed during a facelift, can be used for lip augmentation.

After the skin is removed, its top layer (the epidermis) is removed. This leaves a strip of dermis which is then rolled up into a cigar-like shape and inserted into the lips.

Tissue Grafting to Lips is performed in a Licensed Hospital under Local Anaesthesia +/- Sedation or under General Anaesthesia. However, there is no need to stay in hospital. You can return home shortly after the procedure in the company of a responsible adult.

Like Fat Grafting, Tissue Grafting to lips can be expected to last for 5 or more years.

Lip Implants

A synthetic Lip Implant represents a more permanent option for fuller lips.

Commercially marketed lip implants are usually made of e-PTFE or silicone and come in a variety of diameters and lengths.

Your surgeon will carefully measure your lips from corner to corner to choose the correct implant length. Due to the more curved shape of the upper lip compared to the lower lip, it’s not uncommon for the implant sizes for the upper and lower lips to be different.

Lip implants are inserted through a small incision in each corner of the mouth and therefore the final scars are imperceptible.

The procedure is performed in a Licensed Hospital under Local Anaesthesia +/- Sedation or under General Anaesthesia. However, there is no need to stay in hospital. You can return home shortly after the procedure in the company of a responsible adult.

Lip Lift Surgery

Lip Lift Surgery can represent a worthwhile alternative for patients looking to permanently increase the height of their upper lip’s pink surface and thereby avoid the cost of lip filler injections every 4-6 months.

Various designs of Lip Lift Surgery exist to deliver specific changes in shape of the upper lip. At your initial consultation, our Facial Plastic Surgeon will explain which designs you could consider.

At surgery, after carefully measuring and marking, a thin strip of skin is removed immediately under the nostrils. When the skin edges are then sutured together, the upper lip is lifted upwards thereby exposing more of its pink surface.

Lip Lift Surgery can be combined with any of the above Lip Augmentation techniques to deliver even fuller lips.