Service
Lip silicone removal
Liquid silicone injected into the lips cannot be dissolved — it is removed surgically, most often in several stages, and the gaps that remain are filled with your own fat tissue. The aim is not to bring the lips back to how they were, but to restore their softness, sensation and function.
What is it about?
In the 1990s and 2000s, some people enlarged their lips with substances of unknown composition — most often liquid silicone or biopolymers, sometimes substances with no connection to medicine. Neither silicone nor biopolymers are permitted for injection into the lips; liquid silicone was never registered in Croatia. The body forms inflammatory lumps (granulomas) and hard scars around them, the substance moves over time and the lips become deformed.
Problems can start after a few years, and also twenty years later: swelling that reacts to cold and heat, lumps, hard and uneven lips, loss of sensation, a bluish or pale colour, cracking of the lips. In some people it is harder to pronounce certain sounds and to drink from a glass — the lips are part of the speech apparatus. If this describes you, it did not happen because you did something wrong: a substance was placed in the lips that should never have entered them.
How is it done?
Silicone cannot be dissolved or broken down — it can only be removed surgically, together with the scar tissue around it. It is done through incisions on the inside of the lip. It is removed in several stages, because removing everything at once would leave holes and endanger the blood supply of the lip; in lips that already have a poor blood supply, no agent that constricts blood vessels is used.
The gaps that remain are filled with your own fat tissue, and excess red lip is corrected later if needed. A corticosteroid is sometimes injected into a hard scar so that the lip softens.
We have been doing these procedures since 2002, and they are part of what the clinic calls treating complications of procedures done elsewhere. Our experience with the first 28 operations was presented at professional congresses in 2002 and 2003: in most, a satisfactory appearance was achieved; in half of those operated under general anaesthesia, one or two further corrective procedures were needed, and in a smaller number the amount of silicone had already damaged the tissue. These figures also say the most important thing — silicone can never be removed completely. A small amount always remains.
When is the procedure not suitable?
The procedure is not done during acute inflammation — that is first settled with medicines. Smoking is particularly harmful here, because the blood supply of the lip is already impaired.
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.
Recovery
In the first days the lips are swollen and tender; you eat soft food and avoid hot food and drink. The stitches on the inside dissolve by themselves. The swelling goes down over weeks, and sensation and softness return over months; between two procedures we wait for the tissue to settle.
Procedures are grouped into four recovery profiles: A, outpatient (home straight away, no restrictions apart from dressing changes), B, minor procedure (home the same day or after one night, marks are visible for about a week), C, major procedure (one to two nights in the clinic, sick leave and planning in weeks) and D, functional procedure (sick leave and return to work). This procedure belongs to profile B. How long recovery takes and what it depends on is described on the Recovery after surgery page.
What can the procedure not do?
It cannot return the lips exactly to the state before the injection, because the tissue was inflamed for years. It cannot prevent the remaining silicone from causing a reaction again one day, but after most of it has been removed this is much less common.
Risks
Expected — swelling and bruising in the first weeks, tenderness, temporarily reduced sensation, scars on the inside of the lip.
Occasional — the need for one or two further corrective procedures, excess or unevenness of the red lip that is corrected later, hardness that needs a corticosteroid injection, a long-lasting change in sensation.
Rare — death of part of the lip tissue where the silicone had already endangered the blood supply, a pronounced scar that interferes with speech.
Expected, and rare but serious → Risks and complications: what is the course of healing, and what is a complication?
Price
| Removal of silicone and unknown filler | on request |
| Lip fat transfer (filling) | €500–600 |
The price depends on the extent and number of procedures and is set at the examination.
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
- Lip fat transfer — the gaps that remain after silicone removal are filled with your own fat tissue, as part of the same treatment.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether there is silicone in my lips? If you were given a declaration for each product, from that. If you were not — and with liquid silicone that is the rule — it is assessed at the examination from the hardness, lumpiness and behaviour of the lips, and part of the removed tissue is sent for analysis.
What if I have had no problems for years? Silicone can stay quiet for decades. If it does not bother you, it does not have to be removed — but it is monitored, and you contact us as soon as swelling, lumps or a change of colour appear.
Can I enlarge my lips again afterwards? With your own fat tissue, yes, and that is part of the treatment itself. Permanent fillers are not placed in lips that have had silicone.
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.