Service
Lip fat transfer
Lip fat transfer gives the lips volume using your own fat tissue instead of a hyaluronic filler. Fat is taken by liposuction of a small area, purified and injected into the lips.
What concerns does it address?
How is it done?
The procedure has two parts: taking the fat (most often from the abdomen and flanks) and injecting it with fine cannulas.
Filler or fat?
Filler is quicker and temporary; fat is a procedure and lasts longer. Which is right for you depends on what you want and how often you are willing to repeat it.
How do we do it at Barbel?
Fat tissue is taken with a syringe, under low pressure, from the abdomen or thighs, processed and placed in the lips through a fine cannula in small amounts. Part of it breaks down in the first months, so a realistic volume is built up in two sessions, sometimes three, with as long an interval as possible — it is better to add a little at a time than to place too much at once. What remains after three to six months stays permanently and behaves like your own tissue. The lip border, if it needs defining, is refined afterwards with a small amount of hyaluronic filler; when there are many fine lines above the upper lip, lip fat transfer can be combined with dermabrasion of that skin — the fat tissue supports the smoothed skin from within.
When is the procedure not suitable?
Lip fat transfer is not done when the lips already contain permanent filler or silicone, until it has been removed, or during an active cold sore. It needs some fat tissue of your own that can be harvested — in very slim people, filler is chosen instead. It is done in adults.
General reasons for postponing a procedure (pregnancy, breastfeeding, inflammation, a clotting disorder, smoking): When is a procedure postponed?
Anaesthesia
Before a procedure under general or regional anaesthesia, you are seen by the anaesthetist, who works full time at the clinic; the same doctor is also present during the procedure. The anaesthetic assessment and the anaesthesia for larger operations are included in the price of the procedure. What happens before, during and after anaesthesia is described on the Anaesthesia page.
Risks
Occasional — an irregularity that smooths out, absorption of most of the tissue, which means the procedure has to be repeated.
Expected, and rare but serious → Risks and complications: what is the course of healing, and what is a complication?
Specialist and team
Specialty: plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.
When the procedure is done under sedation or general anaesthesia, the anaesthesia is led by a specialist in anaesthesiology, resuscitation and intensive care who works full time at the clinic.
In the operating theatre, the surgeon is assisted by head nurse Martina Šereg, with the help of nurses Kristina Jurešić and Mateja Tomorad, and in recovery the care assistant Mirjana Kovačić is with you. Martina also looks after preparation, scheduling and contact after the procedure.
Who will operate is decided at the examination, based on the findings and the type of procedure. You know the name of the surgeon before the procedure and meet them at the examination.
What happens at the examination?
The first examination lasts 30 to 45 minutes on average. The surgeon examines the area you are concerned about, asks about illnesses, medicines, allergies and previous operations, and talks with you about what you expect. If the procedure is appropriate and likely to help, you receive a plan: which procedure is proposed, under which anaesthesia, what recovery looks like and what is included in the price. If the procedure is not needed or would not give you what you expect, you will hear that at the examination too.
What if the result is not as agreed?
The result of a procedure is assessed at a follow-up visit, once the swelling has gone down and the scar has matured, not in the first weeks. If it differs from what was agreed at the examination, the same surgeon carries out the correction.
→ Poliklinika Barbel's correction policy
In the same visit
- Dermabrasion — when there are many fine lines above the upper lip, lip fat transfer is combined with dermabrasion of that skin — the fat tissue supports the smoothed skin from within.
Frequently asked questions
Why in two sessions? Because the body breaks down part of the transferred fat tissue — in most people, between half and two thirds stays. A large amount at once does not take better, it only stays swollen for longer; a smaller amount twice gives a more predictable result.
What do the lips look like in the first days? Swollen, in most people two to three times larger than they will end up — this is expected and settles in a week or two. Bruises go within a week to ten days.
How much does the result depend on care after the procedure? The larger the procedure, the more it depends on it, but it always does. Healing takes weeks and months and happens almost entirely at home, so the instructions you receive when you go home, about the wound, physical activity and the scar, are part of the procedure, not a recommendation.
Medical review: doctors of Poliklinika Barbel · October 2026.