Collagen free perfect pouts

A team at the Aesthetic Surgery Centre in Naples, Florida, claim they have achieved good results in 25 patients, by performing a lip graft using muscles from the neck.

The surgery can be done at the same time as a facelift, and is said to help defy the signs of ageing by making the lips appear fuller and less puckered.

Lip augmentation is not new. Since ancient times women have used plant dyes and coloured clays to enhance their lips, followed by the introduction of collagen injections in the 1980s.

Cosmetic surgeon, Anurag Agarwal said: ‘Our patients have been thrilled with the natural feel and appearance, without the need for an artificial filler or implant.”

The neck graft technique is said to improve appearance for at least two years, and researchers say the surgery is simple and the recovery straightforward.

Mr Douglas McGeorge, cosmetic surgeon and past president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Said: “There are lots of ways to increase the volume of lips. This is another way. It’s not necessarily any better, but it may give a more permanent result.

“However, further augmentations may be required. And as with any procedure, things can go wrong, although this is rare.”

Also, if the patient was not already going for a facelift they should be made aware that they would be left with a scar behind the hairline from the surgery, he said.

By Deepika Dudakia