Ideal candidate for a Thread Lift?
Suitable candidates for thread-lift procedure are normally women and men aged 35 to 65 who want a more effective and permanent facial lifting effect than fillers and Botox alone can provide, but who do not want or are not ready for a full surgical cosmetic procedure such as a face-lift or brow-lift.
If you have any of the following concerns, you may be a candidate for a thread-lift:
- Moderate sagging and laxity of the skin in the cheeks, eyebrows, eyes, jowls and neck
- Effects of a previous face-lift or neck-lift are wearing off
- Younger patients with cheek and brow sagging caused by weakened muscles (ptosis)
- Patients with realistic expectations for the outcome of their thread-lift surgery.
Which areas can be treated by Thread Lift ?
- All facial areas (improving volume, pores, wrinkles)
- Chin Lifting
- Neck Lifting, Neck Lines (horizontal and vertical), Skin tightening
- Décolletage
- Body (lipolysis, skin tightening & contouring, cellulite, stretch marks)
- Lower Face Lifting (early to moderate jowls with use of cogging screws
- High Definition Jaw Line
Unsuitable candidates for thread-lift surgery include:
Patients with very thin, fragile and slack skin caused by the aging process Patients with heavy jowls and pronounced sagging in the facial area Patients with little facial fat Patients who do not have realistic expectations for the thread-lift procedure.
Other thread lift candidates include those who have had some relapse from a previous plastic surgery procedure such as a facelift or neck lift. Many physicians combine thread lifts with other procedures, such as chin lifts, neck lifts and brow lifts, for a customized approach to facial rejuvenation.
Thread Lift Procedure
In a thread lift, barbed sutures (threads) are used to lift sagging eyebrows and eyelids, deep nasolabial folds (those furrows between your nose and the corners of your mouth) or aging neck tissues. A thin needle is used to insert the sutures under the facial tissues. The barbs on one end of the thread grab and lift the sagging skin, and the teeth on the other end anchor the skin to the underlying facial tissues. No incisions or stitches are required, and no scars are produced. Additionally, barbed sutures can be used as an adjunct to a more traditional facelift.
PDO Thread
PDO is a synthetic absorbable surgical suture composed of polydioxanone. PDO sutures are used to perform cardiothoracic surgery (such as open-heart surgery). It’s one of the safest materials to be implanted in the body. PDO threads get fully absorbed within 4 to 6 months & won’t leave you with any scar tissue.
Use of Monos, Screws, Twins & Cogging Screws
Mechanism of Action of PDO Face Lift
In medical terms PDO threads promote a”Selective Inflammatory Response”, which is the principle behind a lot of aesthetic procedures (such as Fractional Laser, Chemical Peels & MicroNeedling). Our skin gently reacts to the inserted threads starting off a repair process wherein the skin heals itself by creating new collagen, naturally!Even though PDO is fully absorbable, but that doesn’t mean your skin won’t react to it. For PDO to get fully absorbed it takes between 3 to 6 months during which time the skin is repairing itself around it.
Techniques for PDO Lift
Tiny threads of PDO are inserted effortlessly creating a mesh under the skin in the form of a #hashtag, or a net. This Mesh will serve as the foundation for new collagen production. This mesh tightens the skin naturally from within. Results appear naturally over a period of time, without any drastic change!
The other technique, utilizes longer barbed PDO threads to produce tightening and lifting of sagging areas with immediate result. The PDO sutures have “barbs” or “cogs”, which provide a grip underneath the skin. These are inserted beneath the dermisparallel to the skin surface with the help of a fine long needle (preloaded with the barbed thread)and these can be pulled in 1 or 2 directions out of the skin, creating an instant skin repositioning. Just like the mesh technique, the skin will then start building new collagen which will secure the lift for as long as 1 to 2 years!The best part of this is that there are no cuts or incisions involved.
The idea behind the thread lift technique is to create a scaffolding in order to support the tissues and keep them in the liftedor where necessary to delicately lift the tissues and reposition the skin to recreate the “V-shape” where it’s been lost.
Although threads can be inserted almost anywhere, one area where they are especially effective is the neck and jawline. The lower third of the face is challenging to treat effectively with botulinum toxin or injectable fillers, which are most effective in the upper and middle third of the face, respectively.
How safe is a Thread Lift ?
When performed by an experienced thread-lift surgeon, the thread-lift surgical procedure is very safe however as with all cosmetic surgical treatments there are some risks involved.Infection though rare is one of the complications of thread lift . It usually happens within one to six weeks of surgery. In the majority of cases an infection can just be treated with antibiotics. Symptoms of infection include fever as well as tenderness, redness, and swelling.
In rare cases you may also experience numbness or lack of sensitivity in the treated area. Scarring is another risk of surgery, however most thread-lifting techniques are designed to keep the scars hidden.
