Cheiloplasty Meaning, Definition, Procedure, Post-op Care

Aesthetic standards and beauty ideals vary according to social views and cultural preferences. Plump, defined lips are frequently preferred in today’s society. However, a perfect lip exhibits traits such as fullness and volume, harmony between the top and lower lips, and a demarcated vermilion border. It’s also important for lips to complement the rest of a person’s features. Large, big lips on a very small face are unattractive because they are out of proportion with the rest of the face.

Cheiloplasty is a surgical treatment that is mostly done without hospitalization and takes between 40 and 60 minutes to complete. In medical terms, this procedure is known as reductive cheiloplasty and it is used to treat patients with hypertrophic (overly full) lips. It is feasible to operate on both the upper and lower lips, or just one of them, with little or no visible scars. It is feasible to execute lipofilling for lip expansion. This refers to the grafting of adipose tissue removed from the same patient by a selected mini-lipoaspiration procedure, for instance in the abdomen region or from the hips.

Cheiloplasty (lip surgery) is an easy cosmetic operation that gives the lips the required volume and sensuality to enhance and rejuvenate the face. This type of surgery is minimally invasive. In every instance, a local anesthetic is used, and the procedure lasts, on average, 20 minutes.

In clinical settings, a combination of these techniques is typically used to treat a patient’s condition. This involves reducing the size of the defect with one of several primary closure techniques, incorporating a piece of the patient’s natural lip into the reconstruction, and obtaining tissue from a donor site as necessary. The most effective outcomes are attained by the use of a functional oral sphincter. Typically, multiple processes are required to reconstruct lost lip parts.

Cheiloplasty Procedure

Cheiloplasty is done by highly trained plastic surgeons who use the latest technology. To achieve a favorable outcome, preoperative evaluation and patient communication are essential. The patient’s expectations, the patient’s dento-maxillofacial proportion with respect to the lips, the patient’s choice of anesthesia, the recovery duration, and the dangers involved all play a role in the decision of which surgical technique is appropriate. 

To enhance the overall appearance of the lips, there are many different types of treatment procedures available, including the following:

• Lip augmentation for patients with naturally thin lips or for those whose lips become thin as a result of facial aging. An injectable, bio-compatible substance is used to enhance lips during this procedure. It is essential to position the material correctly to get the desired results of a fuller-looking lip while minimizing the appearance of wrinkles around the lip’s edge. The specialists in facial aesthetics do lip augmentation utilizing two different methods:

1. 1. Lip augmentation with cheek fat deposits
   2. Lip augmentation with hyaluronic acid

• Reduction cheiloplasty is a less common procedure used to treat individuals whose overly full lips do not blend in well with the rest of their facial characteristics. Surgical lip reduction is a procedure performed on patients with naturally big and prominent lips.  As an outpatient operation, lip reduction is carried out under local anesthetic; however, if a patient is undergoing numerous surgeries, general anesthesia is used instead. An incision is performed horizontally on the inner lip mucosa. Lips are contoured by eliminating extra skin, fat, and muscle. The wound is treated with multiple layers of closure. A lip reduction operation is performed on either the patient’s upper or lower lips to improve the patient’s overall appearance and sense of balance. In most cases, these wounds heal completely scar-free.

• Corrective Cheiloplasty is performed on individuals who suffer from lip abnormalities as a result of tumors, trauma, burns, or hereditary changes such as a harelip.

Cheiloplasty Post-op Care

During the initial phase of recovery, the patient often feels swelling, numbness, pain, bruising, and discoloration in the lip areas. Each patient experiences these symptoms differently, and they typically continue for two to three weeks. The majority of postoperative instructions include wound care, drugs to apply or take orally to promote healing and limit the risk of infection, and when to visit the plastic surgeon. 

Sutures, if used, are typically removed between seven and ten days after surgery. The healing process continues for a few weeks after the lip’s swelling goes down, and once the wound is fully recovered, the surgical result becomes obvious.

Some other post-op care tips are:

• The medical professionals advise patients to clean their surgical wounds according to instructions and to use the prescription ointment as directed regularly.
• To speed up the recovery process, it is recommended to avoid sun exposure as much as possible.
• Apply sunscreen frequently to the scar region.
• The look and texture of a scar are mostly improved by applying a topical scar gel and massaging the affected region.