Palatal grafts for lip reconstruction.

Palatal mucosal grafts are used to provide bulk and improve the contour of lip defects. Since the palatal grafts are markedly different in color, they must be placed behind the wet-dry mucosal line so that they cannot be easily seen at conversational distances. The contrast with the red vermilion is too great for this graft to be used as a cosmetic lip substitute, but when the graft is used as a living tissue expander in the posterior position, it improves subtle lip contours.