The inferior labial artery is a branch of the facial artery near the angle of the mouth, passing medially in the lower lip between the orbicularis oris and the labial mucosa. It supplies the lower lip skin, orbicularis oris, and labial mucosa, anastomosing with its contralateral counterpart to form the lower labial arterial ring. It is smaller than the superior labial artery.
The inferior labial artery is at risk during lip augmentation filler injections, commissuroplasty, and lip lift procedures. Inadvertent intravascular injection of hyaluronic acid into the inferior labial artery can cause lower lip ischaemia and necrosis, requiring immediate hyaluronidase injection. In wedge excision of lower lip carcinoma, the inferior labial arteries on both sides of the resection must be individually ligated before tissue excision to prevent significant haemorrhage. The Karapandzic and Abbe-Estlander flap reconstructions for lower lip defects are based on the inferior labial artery pedicle.
Inadvertent injection of hyaluronic acid filler into the inferior labial artery produces immediate blanching and pain of the lower lip followed by ischaemic necrosis; emergency hyaluronidase injection (dissolving the filler) and warm compresses must be performed within minutes to hours of the complication to restore arterial flow.
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