Some patients present to their facial plastic surgeon requesting fuller upper lips. Collagen injections are often used for relatively minor lip augmentations. In cases where a longer lasting and somewhat more substantial improvement is sought, a "lip augmentation" can achieve the desired result.

A small incision, hidden at the border of the lip, is made on both the right and left side. A tunnel is created beneath the lip tissue. The augmentation material will be placed in this tunnel.

There are several materials that can be used for lip augmentation. Using the patient's own fat or other tissue is common. However, this tissue may resorb to some degree and often requires more than one procedure. Synthetic materials such as gortex strands are also used by some surgeons, although there is always a small risk that these can become infected or come out in the future. Alloderm, which is processed human dermis, is another popular alternative.