It turns out that there may be more to lip augmentation than just cosmetic benefits. According to Neurology Advisor, the procedure can help patients deal with facial paralysis. Neurology Advisor explores this in a recent article titled “Cosmetic Lip Augmentation May Relieve Facial Paralysis.”
According to the author of the article, “Kofi Boahene, MD, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues worked with 22 people who had facial paralysis on one side of the mouth and three people with muscular dystrophy who had lost control of both sides of the mouth. The patients were given hyaluronic acid injections. The greatest improvement was seen in the three muscular dystrophy patients, who had a six- to seven-fold increase in lip strength. Among those with paralysis on one side of the mouth, lip strength improved an average of 1.4 times on the paralyzed side and 0.4 times on the non-paralyzed side, the researchers found. All 25 patients showed notable improvement in their ability to speak and to eat and drink without spillage. A larger study with about 100 patients is being planned. In a Johns Hopkins news release, Boahene said that if the patients in this study continue to show improvement without any significant side effects, he may explore longer-lasting treatments, such as removing fat from elsewhere in the body and injecting it around the mouth.”
If you are considering having a lip augmentation procedure, you need a surgeon you can count on. Rex E. Moulton-Barrett, M.D. is internationally known and acknowledged. He is board certified with The American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and The American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
With lip augmentation, your surgeon will most likely use topical anesthesia for injections. When it comes to these procedures, they are performed on an outpatient basis in your doctor’s office or an outpatient center and you will be sent home the same day.
As far as the length of lip augmentation recovery, it varies depending on the specific type of lip augmentation procedure performed. Generally, most patients can return to their daily routine within a day, unless a general sedative was used to complete the procedure. Swelling and bruising can be expected after any type of lip enhancement procedure. In most cases, these effects may last a week or so if fillers are utilized for the augmentation, and up to three weeks if lip implant placement is performed.
If you are considering lip augmentation, contact us for a consultation.