Lip Lines: Reversing Tissue Loss

We now understand that many of the aging changes are due to loss of deeper tissue. One of the most frustrating forms of this, especially for women, is loss of tissue in the lip. This is something that is visible every time one looks in the mirror, and is often noticed by friends and acquaintances. The fine lip lines form chanels encouraging the migration of lipstick.

Previously we did not have a satisfactory answer for this. Laser resurfacing would eliminate the lines but was associated with considerable down time and considerable risk of permanent color change. Injecting filler into the lines was only a partial solution and not infrequently replaced the line with an elevated ridge.

Now we have thinner fillers available to us. These enable us to spread a thin layer of filler across the entire lip, replacing some of the lost tissue and reducing the lines. Furthermore, the filler also induces the skin to make new collagen, so after one or two treatments the results become longer lasting.

The photo above is before filler was added.

This photo is several weeks after filler was added.

This photo is before filler was added.

This photo was taken several weeks after filler was added. With time the body will create new collagen that will make this result semi-permanent. Furthermore, this approach can be used to repair the skin on other parts of the face where the skin is crepey.

 

Gerald N. Bock MD

California Skin & Laser Center

Stockton & Lodi, CA

The Women with Blue Eyelids

As the use of fillers becomes more widespread and sophisticated, more physicians, and some non-physicians are trying their hands at it. Originally collagen was used as a wrinkle filler and, while there were occasional side effects, for the most part they were limited to some assymetry with the more serious problem of interference of the circulation to the lower mid forehead skin occurring only rarely.

Now the collagen fillers have been replaced by new families of fillers that bring with them new potential problems. The most commonly used fillers are the hyaluronic acid fillers, such as Restylane or Juvederm that, when placed beneith thin skin, can produce a bluish discoloration.

The change in the use of fillers from wrinkle improvers to facial sculptors, replacing facial volume lost with aging, has resulted in the need for more skilled injectors and increased the variety and risks of complications.