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Kris' Alloderm Lip Implant
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I just
had the AlloDerm done on March 17,'00. I only had my top lip done, as my bottom
lip is pretty full to begin with. I certainly don't claim to be an expert, but I
can tell about my personal experience. I made an appointment for a consultation
with a plastic surgeon who I had heard good things about. I was interested in
collagen injections. He was really informative and went over the many different
options and products available today, and the pros and cons of each. I have also
found a website that has a ton of info on lip enhancement at this site: Lip
Enhancement and this doctor
said very much the same things my doctor said to me. He told me that collagen
was basically a waste of money and that, in his opinion, AlloDerm was the way to
go for the longest lasting results. It is eventually reabsorbed into the body,
but has the potential of some permanent results due to the way it is implanted
and the fact that since it is human tissue the theory is that one's body might
just leave it alone rather than reabsorbing it all. I was told the results would
probably last a year or more.
I went in on a Friday morning. He gave
me several shots inside my upper lip to numb it. The Lidocaine that he numbed me
with stung a little bit going in, but my lip (and only my lip) was numb quickly
and I didn't even feel many of the shots. I was totally awake and alert
throughout the procedure. Once my lip was numb he made a tiny incision on the
inside of my lip near the corner of my mouth and inserted a piece of metal to
make a "tunnel" for the AlloDerm implant. Once that was done, he
pulled the implant through, stitched me up (tiny incisions on each end of the
inside of my lip) gave me an icepack and sent me home. I drove myself home, felt
just fine, my lip was starting to really swell. The entire procedure took only
an hour and was totally painless other than the sting of the shots. |
Top is after photo |
When the numbness started
to wear off I was hurting and took a Darvocet that he had prescribed for me a
few weeks before the procedure. He prescribed 5, I took only 2. Once that kicked
in I wasn't in any pain. My lip swelled tremendously, I looked like Marge
Simpson with this HUGE overbite look. I stayed in the house all weekend. I
didn't have any bruising except for a little bit right in the middle of my lip
itself. I am generally a fast healer and don't usually bruise very easily. By
the second day I looked much less swollen, but still was not going outside. By
the third day, Sunday, I ventured out to the grocery store. I felt very self
conscious, but I really don't think anyone thought I looked freakish or
anything. I went to work on Monday, no one said a word. I was still swollen and
my lip sort of turned up. My kids had been at their dads all weekend, so they
had not seen me yet. That night at dinner, my 7 yr old said "mom, your lip
looks funny" then they all giggled for a while. I told them I had a fat
lip.
It gets more and more
natural looking each day. My plastic surgeon told me it would take about 3 weeks
for it to feel soft rather than kind of hard and rubbery. It has been 12 days
and already feels pretty good. I think just in the past day or so I don't look
like I have an overbite anymore. My lip is still thick looking when I smile, but
that is diminishing too. So far I am just thrilled with the results. I will keep
you posted on my progress, and let you know how long it lasts, etc. I searched
and searched for information on lip enhancement and specifically AlloDerm
and had almost no luck. Hope this helps.
Kris
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