14 DAY TRIAL // If so many stars and starlets can introduce all kind of synthetic stuff in their lips for a sexier look, then why not an implant derived from pig intestines? In fact, the new product could come with a longer lasting period than injections for filling out thin lips, as pointed by the new research published in the Archives of Facial and Plastic Surgery.
"We think there is a viable product here. However, just one implant wasn't enough to satisfy half of the patients in the small study," Dr Edmund A. Pribitkin of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia told Reuters Health.
The new implant, called Surgisis, is produced from the lining of the small intestine of pigs, and developed by West Lafayette, Indiana-based Cook Biotech Inc. The stuff has proven safe and effective in other parts of the body and has received the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration . Other methods for lip augmentation have many limitations.
"Injections like Restylane gradually dissolve, while other implants such as Gore-Tex may kink and curl. Ideally, the Surgisis implant would act as a scaffold for renewed growth of the patient's own tissue, dissolving over time. What would ideally happen is that it would be replaced by the body's own tissue," said Pribitkin.
The trial involved 8 patients which received one strand of Surgisis per lip, through entry and exit incisions on each side of the lip, under local anesthesia. The incisions were closed with just one stitch each.
"Short-term lip augmentation was achieved in all 8 patients," wrote the authors.
4 subjects needed an extra implant upon follow up, while one received an extra third. Just in one case, the subject got an infection following the surgery. The team is focusing on using Surgisis against facial folds and wrinkles, but it will also realize a longer follow-up of patients undergoing lip augmentation.