It’s a known fact that everyone has something—whether it’s a major or minor detail—about their appearance that they’d like to change. A lot of people who are dissatisfied with the way they look tend to opt for some form of lip enhancement and augmentation. Whether your lips are so thin that it looks like they disappear every time you smile, or if your lips are incredibly asymmetrical (i.e. if one lip protrudes further out than the other), there are plenty of feasible and affordable surgical and non-surgical lip augmentation solutions available to you. Toronto Facial Plastic Surgery offers a wide variety of lip augmentation procedures and injections for patients throughout Toronto and the GTA. We take great pride in the astonishing and realistic results we’re able to achieve for our patients and we always make sure they’re well aware of every step involved in the overall treatment from start to finish.
What Is the Lip Augmentation Process?
There are several different types of lip augmentation procedures available in Toronto ranging from lip lifts to reduction or reshaping. The one common denominator among all of them is that they each require an initial consultation with a highly skilled, experienced, and reputable facial plastic surgeon or injectionist. At Toronto Facial Plastic Surgery, Dr. Andres Gantous, our qualified lip surgery and reshaping expert, will sit down with you prior to commencing treatment and explain all of your lip augmentation options with you. He will even make recommendations that are in accordance with your medical history, the practicality of your expectations, and your budget for this procedure.
Choosing Between Lip Injections and Lip Surgery
Dr. Gantous typically helps his patients decide between lip injections or lip surgery on an individual basis. The fact is that every patient is different therefore, they all have varying needs, personal sensibilities, and desired end results. With a lot of celebrities choosing to augment their facial features—especially their lips—it’s easy to understand why so many people are also interested in doing it. Lip injections have recently become the more popular choice in Toronto because they’ve been proven to be far safer, more effective, longer lasting, and less costly than actually going under the knife, so to speak. However, the type of lip augmentation you need depends mostly on the type of results you hope to achieve and this is something that you should discuss directly with Dr. Gantous.
What Happens During a Lip Filler Treatment?
As mentioned, before any type of lip augmentation treatment can take place, Dr. Gantous will have to meet with you personally for an initial consultation and assessment of your lips. You should inform us ahead of time if you’ve had any previous work done on your lips, whether you require a correction from a previous treatment, and whether or not you smoke. If you do smoke, we’ll likely advise you to quit smoking for a minimum of two weeks prior to and after the procedure because it can impede the success of the treatment and the healing process. You should also refrain from taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during this period as they can lead to more severe bruising immediately after the procedure.
Lip injections come in two forms: fat transfers or dermal injections. Fat transfers involve extracting excess fat cells from other parts of your body, modifying them, and then safely injecting them into your lips. Dermal injections involve using a hyaluronic acid mixture to plump up your lips. Most lip injections already contain Lidocaine, which is a freezing agent that prevents the patient from feeling discomfort or pain throughout the procedure. However, if you have a particularly low threshold for pain, we can also apply a cooling agent prior to starting the procedure.
How Long Does the Procedure Take?
All in all, the procedure itself shouldn’t take longer than about 20 minutes, but this usually depends on the individual patient’s needs and the extent of the work being done. In some cases, we might ask you to stay behind for an additional few minutes and hold an ice pack to your face after the injections are complete. Results typically last anywhere from six months to one year.
If you’re considering undergoing lip augmentation in Toronto, contact Toronto Facial Plastic Surgery for an initial consultation with Dr. Gantous!