ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Stomatologica 2014 March;63(3):69-75

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Lipofilling of the atrophied lip in facial palsy patients

Biglioli F., Allevi F., Battista V. M. A., Colombo V., Pedrazzoli M., Rabbiosi D. ✉

Department of Maxillo‑Facial Surgery University of Milan San Paolo Hospital, Milan, Italy

Aim: Patients affected by unilateral facial palsy often show partial or complete atrophy of the orbicularis oris. The lower hemilip on the affected side may have partial functional recover due to direct reinnervation stemming from the unaffected side. This explains why atrophy of the paralysed side is sometimes limited. Negative esthetic and functional findings include partial invisibility of the vermillion border due to lip inversion resulting from muscle flaccidity, asymmetry of the lower lip, oral incompetence, and speech and nutrition impairments of variable degree. In this study, we used Coleman lipofilling as a secondary and ancillary procedure to consolidate the results already obtained with dynamic reanimation, specifically aiming to reduce the volumetric loss due to atrophy of the orbicularis oris muscle.
Methods: Eight patients underwent lipofilling to restore volumetric loss due to muscular denervation atrophy. Six of our patients were affected by inveterate facial palsy and one by an acute form of facial palsy. The last patient presented with high-grade bilateral upper lip atrophy due to Moebius syndrome. Two patients underwent a second lipofilling intervention.
Results: The esthetic volume increase and the ameliorated lip competence were immediately noticeable after the first lipofilling, to great patient satisfaction. As a result of the variable rate of resorption over time of the grafted fat, it may be advisable to repeat the procedure in some patients to maximize results.
Conclusion: Lipofilling represents a useful and safe ancillary technique for camouflage of lower lip atrophy in paralysed patients.