Cosmetic Surgery Blog

I have always liked really full lips.  I feel it makes the face look more youthful, and more attractive overall. After my rhinoplasty, I really felt the need for fuller lips.  Granted, I had always found fuller lips attractive, but now that I had a taste of plastic surgery, I wasn’t afraid.  It is true, once you get one or two procedures; the others (and your desire to have them) come a lot easier.  I was on a mission…

I made a consultation with my doc after having had collagen injections a few times.  I was curious as to what my options were for something more permanent.  I was against silicone injections at the time, as was he.  But I was tired of wasting money that I did not have to burn on collagen.

I went for a consultation and my surgeon mentioned Gore-Tex Lip Implants.  I had never heard of using Gore-Tex for this application.  The truth is, I had not heard of it because the technical term was expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or e-PTFE.  ePTFE is a substance used by Gore Technologies for boot and jacket liners, and when used for this application it is referred to as Gore-Tex as is the brand name.  Well, Gore also has a medical device line and the brand name for this particular product is Gore S.A.M.  (Soft Augmentation Material). 

Well, no wonder I had never heard of it.  Why would I? He showed me a piece of it and it seemed really weird to me.  It was spongy like soft foam but not as soft as I would have preferred.  But, what choice did I have?  After all, it was January of 1999 and there weren’t many products available.  Restylane was still a dream, JuveDerm an even more distant choice and silicone wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.  My surgeons told me that the result would be similar to Pamela Anderson’s, or Julia Roberts. So, I made an appointment the next month for surgery, and wrote a check for $1,800.  I was to have the 3.5 mm implants put in my upper and lower lips in less than a month.  I had a lot to do…

I prepared for surgery in the usual way by buying my supplies, prescriptions and ready-to-heat-and-eat foods, snacks, etc.  As the day got closer, I took my personal before and after photos, got out my lucky p.j.’s and set up the bedroom the night before my surgery was to take place.  I could barely sleep. I was getting excited and couldn’t wait to have fuller lips.  I couldn’t sleep so I took one of the Valium my doc had prescribed for me.

Surgery day comes bright and early and I thought we’d never get there.  I had already taken another one of my Valium, plus a Catapres (Clonidine; an anti-hypertensive, lowers blood pressure) that my doc had prescribed for me.  I don’t understand why I took Catapres, I have really low blood pressure already.  I wasn’t too incredibly nervous because of the Valium, but I was still excited. 

They ushered me in and instructed me to get into a hospital gown.  I was given an I.V. and they begin my saline drip with a mild sedative so that I would be even less nervous.  I was ready! My doc came in and they took before and after photos which came out hideous.  Looking back, I laugh to think he used a Polaroid because his digital camera wasn’t working.  I was assisted into the O.R. and hopped up on the table.  My boyfriend was being allowed to observe and let me know he was there and everything was going to be all right.  The anesthesiologist started her magic and the next thing I know, I was OUT!

I woke up what felt like a second later and in major pain.  My lips hurt severely. The lips are very sensitive apparently.  I was bleeding a little and it made me kind of scared.  The nurses told me it was all right and not to worry and I was put in the recovery room until I was stable enough to go home.

The ride home was a blur and I finally made it home about a half an hour later.  Recovery was long, sore, and looking back, they looked fake!  Mobility was so diminished and it hurt to smile, laugh or cry.  I wasn’t completely thrilled, but it was better than nothing.  Better than collagen every few months.

The Infection
A few months later, I developed an infection after I had some dental work.  I was on vacation and my lip was becoming very sensitive and red.  It began to swell more and more and then developed a small hole.  The hole started leaking pus and I had to get back home to have it looked at. My doctor removed the bottom implant in-office and I almost passed out from the pain when he pulled it out.  I almost started to cry when he told me that I had to wait 3 months with only the top lip augmented to have my revision surgery.  The wait was sooooooooooo long and I was self conscious that it was giving the illusion of my having an overbite.  Even my friends commented.  But, the day finally came!

The Revision Surgery
This time, I was to have the remaining 3.5 mm implant removed and replaced with 3.0 mm implants.  I went through the very same process except for this time I was told not to take the Catapres.  Go figure.  Well, guess what.  They told me last minute that my boyfriend could not observe this time because some loser passed out the week before watching his girlfriend get breast implants.  I started freaking out, I couldn’t breathe, and my blood pressure went up.  It was difficult to calm me down, but I did eventually and the anesthesiologist, once again, did her magic. POOF! I was out…

I woke up, of course.  But was in very little pain, if at all.  What a difference half a millimeter and already having your lips stretched out makes! The recovery process was so much easier, as well.  They still did not give me the shape and type of augmentation I had desired so I started having collagen injected over the Gore-Tex until better products came out. I had Restylane for many years injected over them, as well.  I eventually started considering other options, but first had to have the implants removed.

I kept the implants in until April of 2007.  They served me well all of those years but I had little mobility, lost the ability to whistle, and I could not get the true results I wanted with injections because of the lack of room for them.  There was always an infection risk present, so I am VERY thrilled to have them out.  I have since had fat injections twice, and the mistake of having Radiesse.  But since they both didn’t last, I am back to Restylane and JuveDerm until I figure out what I can do to achieve my goal. 

Would I Do Lip Implants Again?
Absolutely not.  Sure, they worked, but they looked fake, and the loss of mobility was annoying.  Another interesting observation is that once I had the implants removed, the pesky dry lips I thought was simply from my surroundings, completely ceased to be.  I am not saying there was a direct correlation, but it makes you hmmmmm. I had severe dry, peeling lips for years after surgery.  Now, when I get them, it truly is from my environment (i.e. when I snowboard in the winter, or when I surf or skydive when it is really hot and dry.

Now What?
There are far better products and procedures on the market now.  I am back to square one again and although I presently have some Restylane and JuveDerm in, I am looking into permanent options.  Although I never thought I’d hear myself say this, silicone is actually looking good to me. I have too many friends with beautiful sili-lips for me to be as negative about it as I once was.  I know others who have had it for as long as I have known them—10 years!  But, I’m just so apprehensive for two reasons, if people see me with it, it might pursuade them to get it, and if I have a problem??

I hope I can figure it out eventually.