fat injections to the lips

I am having a neck lift and upper blepharoplasty on Monday, with fat injections to the nasolabial folds, etc.  I am still undecided if I want a little fat in my upper lip. Has anyone else had fat injections to the lips, and did you like the results? Was there lots of swelling or pain, or numbness after these injections? Thanks for any information!

I was going to have fat grafting to my lips but am undecided about it at this point. I will still do it to my nasolabial folds if needed (I just had a mini face lift and may not need it at least for a while) but I could not bare a result I didn't like in my lips.  My lips are thinning and I definitely want them plumped but fat grafting is pretty much permanent.  Since I've never plumped my lips before I'm thinking I may start with an injectable filler to see if I like the way it looks.  That way, in case I do not like it, it will go away in 6 mo. to a year.  If I end up liking it (I think I will) I will find a permanent solution done by someone who is an expert with lips.

There are also many different methods of fat grafting, some work better than others, but really it is the skill and experience of the surgeon that is most important for a desired outcome.  You should research, you can find so much info and pictures on the web.  Ask your doc specifically how he does it and ask to see some of his results.  Ask how many times he does it in a month, year etc. to gage his experience.

My understanding is anywhere from 90%-30% of the fat can die and will be re-absorbed back into your body.  I've heard different opinions regarding how evenly it all re-absorbs.  One PS said it re-absorbs evenly in all areas, another I've consulted with said it may not and I've also read that.  However it is a common practice so it must not be really uneven.  Because of the re-absorption they usually inject a lot more than you would normally want so that when it is absorbed you still get a result.  This will give you a very swollen or over-inflated look for a period of time.  Also because of the death/re-absorption of the fat it is common to need several procedures over time until enough fat lives to give you the result you desire.  The fillers are expensive so ultimately I would want a permanent solution with out having to do the bi-yearly up keep but I've seen a lot of really horrible duck lips and really don't want to have that happen to me permanently.

When it comes to the face I say be conservative and careful.  Good luck.

Thanks, Zoe. I am thinking the same thing. The lips are just so obvious, and I want don't want to have "duck lips" either! I think that I will hold off on this particular part of the procedure until later.

All fat grafts lose between 20 and 60% of the volume after a few months.  The lips typically need only 1 or 2cc, so even a small amount of loss makes a big difference.

My preference is Restylane or Juvederm, which is more predictable, doesn't require a donor site, and can be easily fine tuned.  Downside is it only lasts 6 -12 months.

Thanks, Dr. L. My surgeon did put a tiny amount of fat in my upper lip and I love the way it looks. But it is mostly swelling and will disappear she says.