New procedure for fuller lips

Washington, March 16 (ANI): Scientists have discovered a new procedure for augmenting the lips using grafts of muscle and connective tissue from the neck.

As women age, the groove on the upper lip flattens and the amount of pink tissue showing decreases. Such changes have led a growing number of women to seek lip augmentation procedures.

Anurag Agarwal, of The Aesthetic Surgery Center in Naples, Fla., and colleagues studied the results of 25 patients who underwent lip augmentation with segments of their own sternocleidomastoid, a muscle running along the side of the neck, and the connective tissue that overlies it.

After 2 years, the amount of pink tissue showing increased by an average of 20 to 24 percent on both the upper and lower lips. The average projection of the upper and lower lips also increased by 0.9 to 0.99 millimeters.

The muscle and connective tissue can be removed during a facelift with little risk of complication.

The surgeons found no deformities in lip contour, limitations in head movement, neck pain, or nerve injuries associated with this procedure.

The study has been published in the March/April issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. (ANI)