1/23/08

According to an article published in the January issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, if an aesthetic surgeon divides lips into zones based on structure he or she may be able to perform lip enhancement procedures with significantly higher satisfaction among patients, with less complications.

Andrew A. Jacono, MD, an aesthetic surgeon at the North Shore University Hospital, in Manhasset, and at the New York Center for Facial Plastic Surgery, in Great Neck, NY, carried out 137 lip augmentation treatments on 66 patients from January 2004 to January 2006.

Jacono used a new classification of 15 lip zones to direct the placement of nonanimal-sourced stabilized hyaluronic acid injectable gel fillers used for lip enhancement. He recorded how long it took for lips to return to their original appearance. Adverse effects were also recorded. He measured patient satisfaction on a scale from one to five (five meaning highest satisfaction).

"A total of 137 treatments were performed on lips of 66 patients [62 women and 4 men]," says Jacono. "The patients were, on average, 45.8 years old, their ages ranged from 20 to 76. Fifty three of them completed a questionnaire, which measured satisfaction with their procedures. They had had 118 treatments. Their average score was 4.5. Lips took on average, 4.9 months to return to their original state.

According to Jacono, using this new classification of lip zones to direct injection increased the ability to better control lip shape and size in lip augmentation. This technique had high patient satisfaction and no adverse effects.

[www.medicalnewstoday.com, January 22, 2008]