Cheiloplasty is the plastic surgery for touching up the lips that is normally used to remove remnants of silicone injected in lips. Dr. Fernández Blanco has extensive experience in this type of surgery.
How long have we been performing this surgery?
Cheiloplasty is one of our clinic’s star surgeries. We began performing this type of treatment in 2007. A few years ago this operation was carried out very cautiously, removing little product, and nowadays we achieve really very satisfactory results, even in the most extreme cases that require it, removing practically all of the product. From the first week onwards, patients usually appear happy with the result.
Why did people start injecting silicone in lips?
It is a subject that should be approached with caution, since there has been a great deal of evolution in terms of the materials used as fillers and their harmful effect over the years.
At first, the filler product that was used was collagen. With the appearance of “mad cow” disease, this substance disappeared from the market and lips stopped being filled with collagen. Liquid silicone and other permanent filler materials then began to be used. This type of filler initially satisfied the client, since it is a substance that is placed quickly, in a single procedure at the clinic under local anaesthesia, it gave volume and did not produce adverse reactions in most cases.
But in the 1990s the following pathology was discovered: the injected filler material behaves like a foreign body and begins to deform the lip in the form of granulomas and lumps.
In other words, at first it enlarged the lip, but 20 years later we find lips deformed by lumps. It is then that patients come in requesting a cheiloplasty or removal of the filler injected in the lip.
What are the complications of having silicone in lips?
In 2007 we began very cautiously to treat this type of patient; nowadays we can restore beauty to lips that are deformed not only by the substance silicone.
It is likely that this filler has even caused adverse reactions and may even go so far as to cause the patient pain. Therefore, when we carry out this operation, not only is the aesthetic factor important, but there is also a major component of health and wellbeing for the patient. Infections, constant inflammation, and even autoimmune reactions have been seen. For these cases, we recommend, without a doubt, the complete extraction of all of the product used as filler.
When the filler is removed, and with it part of the lip tissue (sometimes it is necessary to remove filler from the white part of the lip, not only from the red part), it is obvious that a great deal of the lip volume that has been enjoyed in recent years is lost, but in general terms when we approach the treatment to take away the lumps, restore the lip’s appearance and remove that hardness and that discomfort, the patient is left very satisfied with the results.
How is a cheiloplasty performed?
The procedure is carried out after administering local anaesthesia to the patient. Through some very fine incisions, we remove a little of the lip mucosa and the filler product. If the product does not cause adverse reactions, it can be considered leaving the part of the product that is not deformed in order to preserve as much as possible of the lip volume. The incision is then closed with some very small stitches. After seven days the stitches will be removed, if absorbable ones have not been used (depending on each case).
The patient will be swollen for between 48h and 72h and there will be practically no bruising. After a week the patient will be able to lead a completely normal life.
Even though a week after the operation the patient already feels happy since they can see the change for the better, the definitive result can be seen from two or three months after the operation.
Dr. Alfredo Fernández Blanco
The plastic surgeon Dr. Alfredo Fernandez Blanco stands out in his branch of medicine, as the best breast surgeon, he is also a pioneer in the so-called secondary surgeries or sequelae. With more than 30 years of experience and thousands of successful cases, he continues to achieve the most natural results that can be expected in a cosmetic surgery operation.
