Fat Injection Lip Augmentation

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like to do fat transfer to lips from chin and neck and also possibly contour my face. I want my face to have a more defined shape and my lips to be bigger. I think the combination of the two would really make my face look better!

A: While fat injection lip augmentation can be done, there is not enough fat that would be removed from the neck or any other facial area that would provude enough injectable volume. Fat injections are based on premise of concentrated fat which is liposuctioned fat that is processed so that only the cells are left and one of its liquid content. You would need to use another donor site as the abdomen (though the umbilicus) or the inner knees or thighs. These donor areas provide better quality fat and more of it.

Contouring of your face through buccal lipectomies, perioral mound liposuction as well as sumental/neck liposuction can be done at the same time as the fat injections to the lips. While some fat would obviously be removed from these procedures the volume or quality of the fat would be unacceptable for reliable lip augmentation in my experience.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana